The Ogre Downstairs
1974
Fantasy
Five children in a blended family have trouble finding a way to coexist when the father (a.k.a. "The Ogre") is such a beast. But just add a couple of magic chemistry sets to the mix and adventures and bonding and understanding will likely follow.
Reviews
Dead Houseplants, March 2013
Here There Be Books, July 2013
Marvelous Tales, July 2013
Mugglenet, January 2013
Readers by Night, February 2013
Swan Tower, May 2011
Things Mean a Lot, November 2007
Share your The Ogre Downstairs love today!
I am very fond of this one. http://howlingfrog.blogspot.com/2014/03/dwj-ogre-downstairs.html
ReplyDeleteAnd I finally finished my Howl post too.
I think it's a lesser known one and that's a shame. It's more realistic in some ways but one of her most far-fetched fantasies in other ways.
DeleteWhen I decided to read/reread all of DWJ, I went right back to the beginning, starting with Wilkin's Tooth and this one. I thought both were aimed a bit younger than the later ones I remembered. So I gave them to my son to read.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't like Wilkin's Tooth ("because I don't like witches"), but he loved The Ogre Downstairs and immediately wanted a chemistry set of his own.
I'll try to do a post later.
A regular chemistry set would be so disappointing after this book though, right? ;)
DeleteI was pleased that Jean pointed out that The Ogre Downstairs has "the gloss of an Issue Novel" on it -- so true, and I'd never have thought of that on my own. It's funny to think about in those terms, but of course Diana Wynne Jones would write something like this in publishing times like those.
ReplyDeleteVery true. "Blended families" was probably a very 70s theme too.
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