The Ogre Downstairs by Luiz Carlos de Macedo Soares
This book The Ogre Downstairs brilliantly blends magic and reality, giving the spell a very authentic feel. Two sets of youngsters from separate households are the subject of the story. This new blended family is having trouble getting along because the father from one and the mother from another have gotten acquainted.
The Ogre Downstairs by Luiz Carlos de Macedo Soares
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It’s a fantastic book for kids. I purchased it from Dianna Wynn Jones’ list of books because I am a major fan of hers. Although not her best writing, it was nonetheless enjoyable to read. I advise 4th students or older to start enjoying it. Beyond that, reading this book would be especially pleasant if you had children in a blended family.
I think the portrayal of the children’s characteristics is quite accurate, and as the story progresses, stepfather “The Ogre” takes on more of a personality, much like the protagonist Caspar does as he gets to know the stepfather he hates because “he’s allergic to noise — and boys.”
The main characters of Mrs Jones’s other fantastic story, The Ogre Downstairs, appear to find it to be incredibly appropriate. You see, their mother decided she was going to marry the Ogre, so he (along with his two similarly diagnosable sons) has moved in with Casper, Johnny, and Gwinny. They think he’s a jerk, too. When they play their music too loud or leave their rooms even marginally disorganized, he yells. But when the Ogre, out of love and goodwill, offers Johnny a chemical set that seems to be normal, strange and unforeseen things start to happen in their new fashionable home.
How would Johnny and Casper explain the living inanimate objects in their room or the alluring ability to fly and vanish? However, as the world around this recently united family starts to unravel with each unpredictable and illogical chemical concoction, they might be able to finally come to an understanding. The Ogre Downstairs is an incredibly amazing tale. Jones has embraced the concept of a magical chemistry set and all of its possibilities wholeheartedly. With each concoction her characters create, she envisions the unthinkable and never lets the reader down. I was so taken with the concept that I still find it hard to believe this tale hasn’t been turned into a motion picture.
