false 3360369 2 <p>"The best kind of writer, strange and spooky and surprising, never sentimental or whimsical."-Kelly Link</p><p>"A writer of wild humor and unrestrained imagination."-<i>Oxford Companion to Children's Literature</i></p><p>"This year can boast one genuine small masterpiece. . . . <i>The Wolves of Willoughby Chase</i> . . . almost a copybook lesson in those virtues that a classic children's book must possess."-<i>TIME</i></p><p>This is the first complete collection of Joan Aiken's beloved Armitage stories-and it includes four new, unpublished stories. After Mrs. Armitage makes a wish, the Armitage family has "interesting and unusual" experiences every Monday (and the occasional Tuesday). The Board of Incantation tries to take over their house to use as a school for young wizards; the Furies come to stay; and a cutout from a cereal box leads into a beautiful and tragic palace garden. Charming and magical, the uncommon lives of the Armitage family will thrill and delight readers young and old. Includes Joan Aiken's "Prelude" from <i>Armitage, Armitage, Fly Away Home</i>, as well as introductions from Joan Aiken's daughter, Lizza Aiken, and best-selling author Garth Nix.</p><p>Best known for <i>The Wolves of Willoughby Chase</i>, <b>Joan Aiken</b> (19242004) wrote over a hundred books and won the Guardian and Edgar Allan Poe awards. After her first husband's death, she supported her family by copyediting at <i>Argosy</i> magazine and an advertising agency before turning to fiction. She went on to write for <i>Vogue</i>, <i>Good Housekeeping</i>, <i>Vanity Fair</i>, <i>Argosy</i>, <i>Women's Own</i>, and many others.</p> 3399602 1 10 2008 The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories total:58|5:31|4:17|3:6|2:4|1:0| 58 249 141 24 5 3 false false Sun Dec 14 02:38:50 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 04:55:10 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 14:02:10 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 14:10:51 -0800 2009
The tales in the Serial G...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 22 06:20:56 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 22 06:26:31 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Apr 09 09:17:51 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 09:21:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 07:47:51 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 07:48:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 11:46:31 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 11:58:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 20:20:27 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 11:43:12 -0700 2009
All together in a collection is not the way to read these stories; you get inured to their peculiar charm. But every time I left the book behind for a bit and came back to i...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 01 09:44:48 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 09:47:57 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jan 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 13:22:07 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 15:27:27 -0800 2009
I've always loved the stories featuring the Armitage Family scattered through Joan Aiken's many anthologies for their whimsy and sheer fun. So it was truly wonderful to find them collected together for the first ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 14:24:18 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 11:09:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Mar 05 16:30:15 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 16:34:23 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 19:00:56 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 07 19:05:18 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Apr 03 06:26:02 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 20:28:52 -0700 2009
The stories were a lot of fun and whimsical. They were often also quite humorous.

My downside is that in some of the chapters (stories) there are unrelated ...more...]]> 0 1 false false Sat Apr 11 12:07:44 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 12:09:13 -0700 2009
I must read this book now.
One must always read Joan Aiken.

She's thrilling & scary & beautiful.]]> 0 0 false false Mon Apr 13 08:20:49 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 10:57:20 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 27 17:50:10 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 17:51:05 -0700 2009 How did I miss hearing about this author until now? These are wonderful and strange little stories.]]> 0 0 false false Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 21:36:41 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 13:27:01 -0700 2009 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, but she is an accomplished writer for adults as well). This is a newly published authoritative collection of the Armitage Family stories, and a g...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Mar 21 19:42:16 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 19:42:32 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Dec 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 21:10:51 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 21:39:33 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 17:35:43 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 07 08:45:29 -0700 2009 http://bookconscious.wordpress.com/2009/...]]>