The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories

Because of a wish Mrs. Armitage made while she and Mr. Armitage were on their honeymoon, Mark and Harriet Armitage and their parents have a series of magical, surprising things happen to them, generally on Mondays: unicorns, witches, spells, fairy godmothers, dragons, griffins, and even twenty-three duchesses and a swimming pool full of pink ice cream. These stories were really delightful, and I can't imagine how I've missed reading any of them all these years (probably my fault for tending to avoid short story collections even by favorite writers). They're quirky and fanciful, and I especially love how, in a very Aikenish way, every odd occurrence is simply taken for granted. I'd find it hard to choose a favorite, but the title story, show more "The Serial Garden", stays in my mind because of its poignant ending. show less

Do not take seriously, except the bits that give you pleasure to do so. Anything negative you feel is something that she's tweaking the nose of, satirizing. Maybe fans of Wodehouse/ Jeeves would appreciate? I'm surprised at myself being able to let go of my stick-in-the-mud pragmatism and just dive into these. Think of the firm of Wright, Wright, Wright, Wright, and Wrong. Think of the riddle What's sadder than a lost child? I do hope for at least one magical Monday for you.
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Reread. I can't believe I've already read it twice, and so recently; it still seems so fresh this time on Libby/Overdrive as an ebook. The title story is so very sad. Others are silly, or clever, or would provoke discussion. And Aiken does write so beautifully. I show more still love the opening bit.

Well. I still love every bit of it. And will continue to look for Aiken's short stories. And read it again someday, probably sooner rather than later. show less

Joan Aiken is one of the most neglected and splendid Children's writers. Best-known for her Wolves Chronicles (starting with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase) about the adventures of children in a darkly Dickensian alternate world in which James III rules England.

The tales in The Serial Garden are not as dark but just as inventive and fanciful. The short stories follow the adventures of the Armitage family. An ordinary British Family of the 1950s however Mrs. Armitage on her honeymoon thought happily ever after sounded a little dull and wished on a wishing stone that things would never be boring but they couldn't have adventures everyday so Mondays were good but not always on Monday because that would be boring too.

The adventures focus show more primarily on the Armitage children, Harriet and Mark who handle a variety of dangerous and magical happenings with a healthy share of creativity and calm British pluck. Whether a Unicorn appears in their garden, or their parents are turned into lady beetles or hatching a Griffin's egg in the linen closet the stories are full of humor and charm.

Aiken was one of those remarkable writers who wrote both for children and adults and her children's books are those that can easily be enjoyed by adults.

I was delighted to find this volume, which collects all the Armitage stories for the first time. show less

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was one of my very favorite books of all time, so I've had my eye on this collection of stories for a while. I loved it. They are unapologetically and briskly strange, and a perfect little escape from the world.

The Armitage family frequently have extraordinary things happen to them, especially on Mondays: unicorns in the garden, ghosts in the spare bedroom, sea serpents, and so on. The children, Mark and Harriet, cope admirably and with considerable aplomb.

Great fun, although a bit much read all at once straight through.

The Armitage family frequently have extraordinary things happen to them, especially on Mondays: unicorns in the garden, ghosts in the spare bedroom, sea serpents, and so on. The children, Mark and Harriet, cope admirably and with considerable aplomb.

Great fun, although a bit much read all at once straight through.

This is a collection of twenty-four stories about the Armitage family, written by Aiken between 1953 and 1998. She is also the author of the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series and many other children's novels and some Jane Austen sequels. The Armitages are a mother, father, daughter and son (with a new baby son in the very last story). The children are Harriet and Mark, school-aged youths who live in a world similar to our own -- except for the magic that surrounds them and causes them to have an inordinate number of adventures and problems. Before they were born, their mother wished on a magic ring that "lots of interesting and unusual things" would happen to her children. Her wish came true and the Armitage children were never bored.

In show more these stories, you can find

-unicorns
-mischievous metal men
-ghosts, griffins and goblins
-intolerable aunts and uncles
-wishes
-witches
-witches with grudges
-witches with a taste for children
-thieving witches

and a magical garden that brings about the saddest things to happen in any of these stories. I wish I had found these when I was a kid.

http://webereading.com/2009/10/monday-was-day-on-which-unusual-things.html show less