Debi Gliori - Pure Dead Magic

Even though I bought this book and its sequel ages ago, somehow I never got round to reading them. They were just sitting on my bookshelf looking pretty with their lovely velvety covers. Well, I finally picked up this book a couple of months ago to read it and it was a really fun story, which I think will really appeal to younger kids. The fantasy does get a little OTT at time, but I think that's part of the charm - what with the ravenous crocodile living in the moat; a strange combination of house pets including a yeti, a griffin, and a dragon; a new Mary Poppins-like magical nanny; frozen nana in the basement - they all come together to make one very humorous story involving the Strega-Borgia family. With a willing suspension of disbelief (rats and sisters can't really be e-mailed and lost through the modem, amongst numerous other things), I think most readers will come away from this with a smile on their faces.