Last weekend I was feeling extremely under the weather so I wrapped up warm, made several cups of tea, and read A Necklace of Raindrops, by Joan Aiken, illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.
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I had fond but very vague memories of the title story from childhood, mostly of the beginning and the end. I couldn’t remember the middle at all, so it was nice to finally fill in the gap.
‘A Necklace of Raindrops’ is a story about a girl who was given a necklace by the North Wind when she was a baby, and every year on her birthday he brings her a raindrop, which hangs from the necklace. Each drop gives her a different magical power.
I didn’t recognise the other stories, so I think I must have read ‘A Necklace of Raindrops’ on a worksheet at school or had it read to me.
I think my favourite story was actually ‘The Cat Sat on the Mat’, about a little girl who lives with her aunt in an old bus and is given some dresses and a kitten by a fairy. She turns one of the dresses into a mat, but then finds that it must have some magic in it, because when the cat sits on the mat, her wishes come true.
All the stories are similarly fairy-talesque and slightly surreal, perfectly complimented by the illustrations. I picked up this copy of the book second-hand, and I’m afraid it’s reached it’s final owner – some of the pages fell out as I turned them. I am going to hang onto it as I think the illustrated pages would look lovely framed on a wall!
Do you like to read kids books when you’re unwell? It’s my favourite time to read them, although I hate being sick!
Shorts on Sunday was created by Jim at YA Yeah Yeah, don’t forget to check out his posts!
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