I had admired their collection of GoreyРІР‚в„ўs short illustrated books РІР‚вЂњ most featured uncoloured pen and ink drawings РІР‚вЂњ from the age of ten or so. Mercifully, my naughty godparents were the exception. Not something any right-minded person would show a child. His work is always gothic, frequently gruesome, and sometimes downright salacious. Yes, he of The Hapless Child and The Gashlycrumb Tinies fame. But there is one author/illustrator who bridged a link between the old and the new РІР‚вЂњ and although he is perhaps an unconventional choice for this series, I couldnРІР‚в„ўt not mention Edward Gorey. I enjoyed Joan Aiken and Kit Pearson, too. Nor was I permanently ensconced in Victoriana and the interwar years (although I did spend a lot of time in both places I still do). Lewis and Enid Blyton are among my abiding childhood-nostalgia reads РІР‚вЂњ IРІР‚в„ўd happily rate them alongside The Secret Garden, Just William and KiplingРІР‚в„ўs Just-So Stories. The Ogre Downstairs has everything: a touch of Harry Potter (flying), a dollop of Freaky Friday (switching places), a soupcon of The Borrowers (animated dolls), all seasoned with a nice sprinkling of Jacqueline Wilson (the trials and tribulations of real life.) It has humour, realistic dialogue, messy bedrooms, toffee bars and a spot of attempted murder (as I said, this IS Diana Wynne Jones). Similarly, the way the book makes you see the Ogre and Douglas (teenage son) both antagonistically and sympathetically by turn, was amazing to me at an age where you rarely think of anyoneРІР‚в„ўs point of view but your own. A section where Caspar and Malcolm switch bodies was relevatory to me (aged 9). Even Gwynny, who could so easily disappoint with her usual interest in dolls and her occasional mothering of her older brothers РІР‚вЂњ is her own agent, often leading the plot forward single-handedly, including a hilarious sequence where she decides to take matters into her own hands and do away with the Ogre once and for all.Р”Р„s a child, I had never come across a book before that made you see things from different points of view. All the characters are distinct and different. Less dark and twisted than some of Diana Wynne JonesРІР‚в„ў books, what I loved as a child was the humour and a real sense of the irritations and loyalties of being a sibling.

The magic chemistry set is a wonderful excuse to indulge in all our childhood fantasies: being able to fly, switching bodies with another person, making inanimate objects coming to lifeРІР‚В¦ To piss the ogre off, Johnny sets to mixing up the most disgusting smells he can.Р”Р„n accident with JohnnyРІР‚в„ўs concoction leads to the discovery that this is no ordinary chemistry set but is something of the magical (and slightly ominous РІР‚вЂњ we ARE talking Diana Wynne Jones here) variety. In an attempt to РІР‚Сљbutter upРІР‚Сњ Johnny (the most difficult of his step children) The Ogre gives him a chemistry set. With his younger brother Johnny and his sister Gwynny, he is not pleased when his mother marries The Ogre (a shouting irritable man with no tolerance for loud music and messy bedrooms) and he is forced to give up his bedroom to two stuffy and bullying sons, Douglas and Malcolm, The main character is Caspar РІР‚вЂњ a typical almost-teenager who likes listening to records and has the messiest bedroom outside my own. The Ogre Downstairs is about a step-family, who all hate each other. But if I think about which of her books I loved most as a child: The Ogre Downstairs wins every time. For me, itРІР‚в„ўs a close-run thing, with both Charmed Life and The Time of the Ghost both hot favourites. There are plenty of Diana Wynne Jones classics. Rosy on The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones But for all of us, when we talked about these first loves, memories came flooding back of glorious hours spent escaping to other worlds. For some of us, the first books that touched our hearts were ones featuring children with magical powers or amazing lives, children like us and yet ones who were very different for others, stories about animals were the ones that first drew us into the wonderful world of books and for yet others, we wanted to be scared half to death by stories of monsters and ogres. It will be no surprise to anyone that we bookfoxes have all been book lovers from our very earliest days. ChildrenРІР‚в„ўs Book Week: When We Were Cubs by theР’В Bookfoxes

Child whispers enid blyton chase