goodreads | Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles

Title: Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles
Author: Margaret Mahy
Genre: Childrens
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 96
Date read: October, 2011

Brothers Jasper and Julian get a horrible shock when their children provide them with their heart's desire! Jasper is wicked and his seven faint-hearted sons are a severe disappointment to him. Julian is good, and his tomboy daughter is a disappointment to him. When the children create two tyrranical robots to send to each other, Jasper and Julian begin to realize that they have made a terrible mistake.

I first encountered Margaret Mahy in general and Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles in particular when Dad read this aloud to us back in 1990. Ever since then, the book has popped up my in thoughts on a regular basis, but I was never really able to find it anywhere, so I forgot about it again.

Then, when I was browsing Amazon.co.uk the other day, I found that it was finally available from Amazon Marketplace for a decent price, and naturally went straight out and bought it. To my great joy it arrived in the mail a mere 4 busines days later.

Great was my trepidation when I picked it up... would it live up to my expectations? I remembered it as a hilarious story with lots of mischief, but would my 32-year-old-self think likewise?

Fortunately the answer was yes. It fully stood the test of time and I left my husband much bemused by laughing out loud at more than one occasion, without being able to tell him exactly why.

My inner 10-year-old is much appeased.