A Small Pinch of Weather [Hardcover]

Joan Aiken (Author), Pat Marriott (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1969

Anything is magically possible in these twelve short stories by gifted storyteller, Joan Aiken. Imagine ordering a sunny day from the local weather witch, asking an appletree to answer the telephone and making a beautiful garden out of old cereal boxes. What would you do if you inherited a real hair loom, or found three ugly old ladies and a dragon on your doorstep and would you need a bicycle if you had a unicorn to ride?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Best known for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Joan Aiken (19242004) wrote over a hundred books. After her first husband's death, she supported her family by copyediting at Argosy magazine and an advertising agency, then began publishing fiction. She went on to write for Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Vanity Fair, Argosy, Women's Own, and many others.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd (April 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0224616269
• ISBN-13: 978-0224616263
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,722,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Aiken (1924-2004) was the daughter of Pulitzer prize winning poet Conrad Aiken and started writing herself from the age of five. During her lifetime she published over one hundred books for children and adults, including the acclaimed Wolves of Willoughby Chase series. In the UK she received an MBE from the Queen for her services to Children's Literature.

This year sees the publication of a brand NEW story collection - The Monkey's Wedding - with previously unpublished material that shows Aiken on top form. This collection of funny, spooky, unexpected but classic Aiken stories has received wonderful reviews and will delight her readers. See below for details.

Her work continues to be adapted for film and television; she is established as a consummate storyteller,and recognized as one of the best loved authors of the twentieth century.

"The Wonderful World of Joan Aiken" is at www.joanaiken.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expensive, and worth every penny, April 14, 2005

By 

Alexandra O'Conner (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Small Pinch of Weather (Faith & Fame S.) (Hardcover)

My sister gave me a copy of this book when I was 11, and I read it over and over and over, reducing it to rags. Many years went by before I even saw another copy. In fact, my sister gave it to me just last week - and when I saw it, I almost cried. I was at work and couldn't read it then and there, but I did sneak peaks while I sat at red lights on the drive home......but enough about me; let me tell you about this amazing book.

The stories alternate between fairy-tales of a long-ago time and the modern-day adventures of a young brother and sister, Mark and Harriet Armitage. The similarities between the different types are simply that anything can happen and it surprises no one when it does. In the title story, the town's weather-witch changes the weather for the townsfolk who ask for it in advance; in "The Apple of Trouble" Harriet concocts magic potions in her bedroom (standard homework for her Domestic Science course). Mark gets a bicycle from his great-Uncle Gavin (under protest, because Mark already has a "perfectly good unicorn to ride"), and every last snippet of darkness is stolen from a kingdom by an evil serpent. All of the tales have hints of darkness and darts of glee. And the last one "The Serial Garden" is heartbreakingly bittersweet, with just enough humor to balance it. On the whole, the tales are sly and smirking, innocent and wide-eyed at once.

So that's why this, in my mind, isn't just a book, but more of a rare and delicious treasure. If you have a copy, take good care of it. If you buy a copy, don't spend a second regretting what it cost.

5.0 out of 5 stars Small Pinch is Excellent, August 27, 2002

By 

alexandra ash (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Small Pinch of Weather (Hardcover)

These utterly charming short stories fall into the category of "Written for Children, But Not Really". Sly, mischievous, topsy-turvy, and wonderful, each story takes the standard fairy tale mode of the Brothers Grimm and crosses over into a sort of Twilight Zone realm.

The stories alternate, first with a fairy tale, and then an installment of tales about a modern, suburban brother and sister named Mark and Harriet. These stories were the most entertaining to me, because the adventures that the children got into were hysterical. A small sample of this is Harriet performing magic in her room (homework for her Spells and Witchcraft course at school), and asking Mark to please answer the phone, because her hands were covered with prussic acid. The best story in the book, in my opinion, is "The Serial Garden", in which Mark assembles a miniature garden (from the pieces stenciled on the backs of cardboard cereal boxes), and is able to transport himself into the garden, meeting a princess who has been imprisoned there for centuries. I can't say anymore about it, except that it's wonderful and heartbreaking.

The other stories hold up just as well. "The Lilac in the Lake" is the story of a true absent-minded professor and seven women who wish to keep him company, and is also one of the best.

Joan Aiken hit it just right with this one. It's hard to find, so nab a copy if you're able.