Product Description

Diana Wynne Jones at her finest -- family feuds and chaos, magic with hilarious results and some of the most original ideas ever to appear between the covers of a book. Casper, Johnny and Gwinny get a big shock when their mother marries the Ogre. The Ogre is large and stern and not at all interested in children, although this doesn't prevent him from adding his own two awful sons, Douglas and Malcolm, to the family mix. Now the five children and two adults are squashed under the same roof, which can lead to only one thing -- war! Then the Ogre brings home the Chemistry Sets -- one for Malcolm and one for Johnny. Not that Johnny is impressed by this very obvious bribe. At least, not until they accidentally discover the flying lotion. Then the real fun begins!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #380648 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
Praise for Diana Wynne Jones '[Wynne Jones] has a unique record of producing books you can't forget! Every book is different. And every book is likely to be in someone's top seven! I feel we need to acknowledge how lucky those of us are who grew up on her books, and to ensure subsequent generations enjoy the same intense and subtle pleasure.' The Guardian "!Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones's most outrageous plots to her readers' hopes and fears!" Publishers Weekly "Truly magical -- guaranteed to leave you gasping -- even hotter than Potter" The Bookseller "Diana Wynne Jones could teach Stephen King and JK Rowling a thing or two ! [she] has a skill for inserting just the right amount of detail in her written words, leaving you satiated but not stuffed." SFX

About the Author
Diana Wynne Jones spent her childhood in Essex and has been writing fantasy novels for children since 1973. With her unique combination of magic, humour and imagination, she has been enthralling children and adults with her work ever since. She won the Guardian Award in 1977 with Charmed Life, was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981, and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. She is married with three sons, and lives in Bristol with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Toffee bars and the Great Caspar
This is a book that makes you grin from ear to ear. On one level it is a story of breath-taking magic, of crunchy chemicals in glass tubes that can make you fly, or invisible, or swop bodies for the day with your posh Scottish step-brother, or make toffee-bars come to life and wrap themselves over warm radiators in the middle of a posh dinner party. On another it is about trying to squeeze two families into one and how you can't expect two sets of children to get on just because the adults happen to have fallen in love. This secondary theme is so apt for modern life, it is hard to remember that Dianne actually wrote this book back in the Eighties. It is funny, clever, magical and touching.

And it has as a central figure, Caspar, a character every bit as wonderful as Eric Chant. Caspar is wise and cool and ridiculous all at once, a child version of Bill Murray's Peter Venckman from Ghostbusters. Caspar steals every scene he's in and is one of those characters who you long to be real so that you could spend time with him.

A cracking read and one that is just as good if you are in your mid-thirties as it was when you were eleven.

My stepfather and I are now best friends!!!
Great Jerry Springer start there. There are far too many "issue" books for teenagers around. This book was written before that market was ever discovered, let alone exploited. A truly wonderful, bizarre, magical book which doesn't flinch from the step-parent subject but addresses it with humour, alchemy and ancient greek bikers. This writer needs more coverage. More recognition. More money.

An Excellent book!
I was searching round the library for something to read, when I stumbled across a fantasy book - Howl's Moving Castle. It looked good, and seeing as I love fantasy, I decided to read it. It was one of the BEST books I have ever read! So I decided to read some others. I was a little reluctant to read "The Ogre Downstairs" because it is reasonably old, but I gave at a chance. I was hooked within the first page!!! Although I don't think it really is quite as good as Howl's Moving Castle, or Archer's Goon - it is WAY better than the magicians of caprona! It's a light-hearted story, and is easy to understand, it keeps your reading and is pretty unpredictable ( well, I suppose it is a little! )

Anyway, it has a good plot, has the "all essential" touch of humour - and is basically a great read! I would say it's for ages: 10 - 14