This complete collection of Joan Aiken’s stories about the Armitage family is lovely reading for children and adults. Everything you wish your childhood contained – unicorns in the front garden, magic preschool teachers, ghosts for houseguests – happens for Harriet and Mark on a Monday, and is usually resolved by bedtime. The short, funny, warm stories in this collection are linked but can be read in any order and by children (and parents) of any age. Aiken was a prolific children’s author and this book, which begins with stories written in the 1950s and finishes with posthumous additions from 2008, reads freshly and lightly and promises many happy Monday daydreams. I loved this book — highly recommended!

Georgia Delaney