Pure Dead Magic

By Debi Gliori

Things are not right at the Strega-Borgia castle. Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia has been kidnapped. Signora Baci Strega-Borgia is struggling with her spells at the Advanced Witchcraft Institute.Titus and Pandora don’t like their suspiciously cheerful and fearless new nanny. Baby Damp has been accidentally shrunk, e-mailed, and lost on the World Wide Web. And to top it off, there’s a gangster in a bunny suit lurking about. . . .

This seriously over-the-top, gothic romp is sure to have readers clamoring for the next Strega-Borgia adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 13, 2002
• ISBN: 9780375890253

Debi Gliori

Debi Gliori is the award-winning writer and illustrator of over eighty picture books and novels for children of all ages, including the bestselling modern classic No Matter What (Bloomsbury) and the Mr Bear series (Orchard). Her picture book about depression, Night Shift (Templar), was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She is also author of the Little Owl series of books, illustrated by Alison Brown, for Bloomsbury. Debi lives near Edinburgh and has twice been writer-in-residence in the Shetland Isles. Her favourite colour is blue or, more precisely, four different shades of blue: cerulean blue, cobalt blue, Mediterranean turquoise blue and warm ultramarine blue. She has sold over 600,000 books in the UK alone.

Reviews for Pure Dead Magic

[chazzifrazz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh me! Oh my! This was a fun read! Roald Dahl writes Mary Poppins!

The Strega-Borgia family is not your typical family. With a yeti, a griffin and a dragon living in the basement, a crocodile living in the moat and a talking spider in the attic, you could say this family is a bit different.

But this family pulls together, with the help of their unusual nanny, Mrs. McLachlan, when their father goes missing, the baby is sent careening onto the information highway in an e-mail and their home is invaded by gangsters.

A fun read for 5th grade, adults will get some good laughs too!

[foggidawn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Titus and Pandora Strega-Borgia have problems. Their father has left the family, their mother is preoccupied with her witchcraft classes, and they have a no-nonsense new nanny. When they manage to accidentally shrink their baby sister and zap her into cyberspace, can they find a way to get her back? And has their father really left them, or did something much more sinister happen?It's hard to summarize the plot of this book, because it's so wacky and interconnected. I can see kids really liking this series, as there's lots of action and gross humor. It's not one of those children's books that I'd recommend to other adults -- there's little character development, and the plot leaps around a bit in ways that don't always make logical sense. I won't be continuing with the series, but I'm glad to have read it so now I know what it's about.

[diamonddog_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I needed something lighter than Harry Potter, but not as dark as Lemony Snicket and lo and behold, Pure Dead Magic happened upon my desk. A fan of Deb Gliori's picture books, I thought I'd give it a go. This wickedly funny chapter book for the tween age group provides mystical fun for young goths. Full of puns and word play, the fast paced, entertaining story will keep readers going and hungry for the others in this series. The cast of characters alone are intriguing, including the three kids, newly hired nanny, and frozen grandma in the basement. Pick it up today and invite the Strega-Borgia family into your home!

[crayolacrayon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I like this book... I wasn't really drawn in, though.

[sensitivemuse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Chaotic is one word to really describe this book. Although it was fun to read what they all go through I think this book would have made a very interesting movie (should it ever go that way). Think of The Addams Family and their kookiness, mixed with a bit of style of Lemony Snicket and add in a bit of Mary Poppins and you get Pure Dead Magic. I enjoyed reading this book! it was a fun light read and there were particular parts of the book that actually got me laughing out loud. It is quirky and kooky and you could say even rather strange at first to read but once you get engaged into the storyline then the reading experience is quite fun.The plot was certainly engaging, and by reading the first page it actually takes you into the book head first so be prepared. I liked it, yet on the other hand, I found it a little too engaging. It just seems like there's just way too much going on and you have a hard time figuring out what's happening, and it also feels like you need to take a real big deep breath right after each chapter. Sometimes it helps if there's a small part in the book where everything just take a breather, and the action takes a break while we as readers sort things out with the storyline. The characters are likable and fun, no need for development, or any heavy duty stuff here. Like mentioned before, it's a light read to take a break from the heavy duty ones.Overall, a fast, light read, with a lot of room left at the end for several more books ahead. I'll be picking them up whenever I need the urge to laugh or when I need to take a break from the heavier deeper books. Sometimes it's good to read childrens novels just to take a break from the serious books and to enjoy the quirky kooky funny ones as well.

[francescadefreitas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was hilarious, I don't know how to start describing it - kids live in a castle in Scotland, father has been kidnapped by violent Italian relations, mother is an absent minded witch studying at barding school during the week, the nanny is a technological wizard (or witch?) and the baby has been transported through the internet, oh, and granny is kept in the basement freezer, but the plug as been pulled and she's defrosting. Chaos, hilarity, and delightful sentences to read out loud.I'd recommend this to younger kids, maybe 9 up, but also to parents as read alouds. And I plan to catch the rest in the series.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this! Very funny with tongue-in-cheek British humour (well, Scottish, actually), I found myself laughing out loud several times and chuckling quietly many times. This family is very unique but endearing, think of a Scottish Addams Family. For the first half of the book, the plot was a bit slow as each chapter seemed to be more of a vignette than part of the story-line, but by the middle of the book the action picked up. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the Unfortunate Events books but be warned that this book is a bit 'gross' at times (large mythical beasts do eat bad guys), so definitely not for the very young or sensitive. I'll certainly be reading the next in the series.