Monday 29 July 2013

Memory Lane Monday [11]






Welcome to another edition of Memory Lane Monday. The idea behind this feature is to take a nostalgic stroll along the bookshelves of my past, looking at those books I've loved since I was a small(er) girl.

Today's book is:

Pure Dead Magic
Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori

All is not well at StregaSchloss, home of the bizarre but lovable Strega-Borgia clan. Mum's attempts to improve her witchcraft skills are failing miserably. Dad has stormed out in a fit of pique. Titus is virtually umbilically attached to his computer. Pandora is seriously bored. And Baby Damp is getting her fat little fingers into everything around.
Enter wonder-nanny Mrs McLachlan - she'll soon sort out the Strega-Borgia children, and their parents too, but will she cope with the presence of mythical beasts in the basement, to say nothing of the unexpected arrival of four hit-men, including one in a rabbit suit?



Admittedly, when this book was released in 2001, at age 11/12 and a very good reader, I was probably past its target market. But I had this endearing quality as a child/teen (read: inherent laziness) of always reading books aimed at younger age brackets, PLUS children's books are for EVERYONE.

And so began my love for the Pure Dead series. Featuring magic, mayhem, a wonderfully dysfunctional family and some rather touching and emotional plotlines (plus amazing velvety hardback covers, they were like spell books!) I was bound to fall in love with them. In fact, I stuck with this series right up to its conclusion in 2006 (I ran out to Smiths to buy it with my allowance). Who doesn't want to read about a family where the nanny is a witch, the grandma is kept in the freezer and defrosted for special occasions and one of the members is a dragon?

Did you read this series? Who was your favourite character? (Pandora was mine, though I was partial to baby Damp)

9 comments:

  1. I have never heard of this series before. What would you consider the target age group? I have a niece that I like to buy books for. (and my son always reads below his ability, but I'm just thankful he reads!)

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    1. It's 9-12 (middle grade) definitely, though I'm sure a younger/older reader would enjoy (I always did)

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  2. I LOVED this series when I was younger! Everything about it was awesome, especially the velvet hardback covers. I definitely need to catch up with this series again, who cares if they're children's books? They're flipping awesome!

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    1. YES! I loved them so much. I wish I still had them

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  3. Inherently lazy, eh? You didn't know me.

    "PLUS children's books are for EVERYONE."
    <-- YES. Please make an add with this slogan.

    "Featuring magic, mayhem, a wonderfully dysfunctional family and some rather touching and emotional plotlines (plus amazing velvety hardback covers, they were like spell books!) I was bound to fall in love with them... Who doesn't want to read about a family where the nanny is a witch, the grandma is kept in the freezer and defrosted for special occasions and one of the members is a dragon?"
    You're making me wish hardcore that I'd followed this series. It sounds as magical as HP. And velvety hardback covers? WHUT. Why don't they have those anymore? Or, if they do, WHY HAVEN'T I SEEN THEM.

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  4. Oh as a kid, I used to ALWAYS read books aimed at a younger age bracket. Remember Biff and Chip? For reasons that still elude me, I would not let go of those stories. It was either that, or books that were far too old for me. I had some strange reading habits...

    I haven't read this series! I stumbled across it a few years ago, but never really bothered to find out what it was about. Sounds like my sort of thing now! I also really love the sound of these velvety hardcovers. What a nice touch!

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  5. I've never seen this book before but it sounds like something I would have loved when I was younger. Especially the velvet cover, because I always used to want a spellbook or magic-y type book as I was (and pretty much still am) obsessed with books about magic and witches!

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  6. I like this meme idea. I've never heard of these books but they sound very fun!

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  7. My old housemate kept telling me about this series as she loved this when she was younger. I think I should probably listen to the both of you...

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