A Small Pinch of Weather

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.

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.