Absolute Zero, the 2nd in the Bagthorpes series was the book that hooked me to the Bagthorpe series. The Bagthorpe clan with its outrageous personalities reminds me still of my own large eccentric family. One of my fondest childhood memories is the hours I spent laughing at the antics of Jack and his family. I found the feud between Uncle Parker and Mr. Bagthorpe to be hilarious. Mrs Fosdale is a wonderful minor character and her reaction to the pantry still dissolves me into hysteria. Jack Bagthorpe was as close as a best friend to me. His misadventures with Zero and his family still make me laugh, smile and want to hear more. If your child is not quite ready for Harry Potter or needs a fill in the Bagthorpes though a different genre will absolutely do!

Absolute Zero is the second book of the Bagthorpe Saga, and in my opinion, it's the best, although the first four in the series are all exceptional. I loved these books as a child, and I love them now as an adult - it's a pity they are out of print in the US. (They are, however, still available in the UK, and US readers can order them online from amazon.co.uk, among other online shops. Believe me, the extra shipping is more than worth it.)

Like Ordinary Jack before it, Absolute Zero chronicles the lives of the eccentric, lunatic Bagthorpes. Competition madness overtakes the family after the urbane Uncle Parker wins a Caribbean trip for two. Better yet, while Uncle Parker and Aunt Celia take their trip, their daughter Daisy, the world's only destructively creative four-year-old, is left with the Bagthorpes. Hilarity inevitably ensues, in the shape of Daisy-induced disasters, police involvement, and unfortunate prizes.

The dry humor and intelligent wit of the early books in the Bagthorpe series raise them above their genre, and the books are as fresh and entertaining now as fifteen years ago. Any adult who still knows how to laugh would enjoy these novels, and as for children - well, the danger isn't that they won't like it. The danger is that they will start tearing the labels off canned goods in their parents' pantries, in hopes of recreating the joy of the series.

(NB: The last few books of the series - I believe it's now up to seven or eight books - are not at all worth reading. The first four in the saga are musts, and true Bagthorpe fans will probably enjoy book five and even book six, but after that, don't bother. Spare yourself the pain of seeing one of the best humorous series of our time go to pot.)

This is part 2 of Helen Cresswell's "Bagthorpe Saga", a truly hilarious series about a bizarre British family. As an adult, I still treasure these books and read them when I'm in need of a laugh. (For more description of the Bagthorpes, read the first review of "Ordinary Jack", the first book in the series. I agree with that reviewer's comments.)

I think part of the reason these books aren't very well known in the US is that the reading level is quite high, especially compared to most contemporary kids' series. A young person who's a gifted reader and appreciates British-style humour - a la "Monty Python" or "Fawlty Towers" - would surely enjoy them. I'd suggest checking used bookshops (e.g. through Bibliofind web site), or the Amazon UK site. You won't regret getting to know the Bagthorpes!

This book is in my top ten of best-books-ever-written. There is always action, suspense, and it pulls you in to Moontime and the other times that Minty visits. This book is seems very, very real even though it is very unreal.
If you liked this book, you should read The Watchers by Helen Cresswell or Wait Till Helen Comes.

I think ýt is a very fascinating book and it is my homework, too. I must prepare summary of "Moondial". My work is really difficult.

I thought that this book was quite amazing. It combines normal Helen Cresswell writings with a touch of fantasy and mysticism yet it still remains light and easy. I would recommend this book for young fantasy lovers as I read it when I was 9 and thoroughly enjoyed it and I still read it now even though I'm 13! You're bound to love this book because it really is one of Helen Cresswell's best.

This book was funny because a boy named Gumball got a magic lamp. A genie came out and Gumball wished to be invisable.I stronggly suggest to read this book.

An excellent book, but American children may have difficulty with some of the British phrases. My daughter likes the character even better than Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby, whom she also loves. The plot in "Posy Bates Again" is funnier and more satisfying than "Meet Posy Bates" even though the ending merely leads you to read "Posy Bates and the Bag Lady." Highly recommended for girls aged 8-10, though some of the vocabulary may be challenging for the younger ones. As a read aloud, it's perfect for 7 and 8 year olds.

This brings the trilogy to a satisfying end. My daughter listens to it over and over.

There were once five children who spent their summer holidays in a white house situated between a sand-pit and a chalk-pit. One day they found a strange creature living in the sand--the Psammead, a sand-fairy with the power to grant people their wishes. You can read about it in FIVE CHILDREN AND IT. Now in this sequel Helen Cresswell has created a continuation to their adventures. The children have gone back home and fournew ones have arrived: George, Ellie, Pip, and Lucy. The Psammead was by then feeling lonely, and a whole series of new wishes is granted.

This book is one of the best I have ever read. It deals with the concept of a village, Grimstone, that 'slipped the net of time'. Polly is the only one who can see the Time Gypsies, and she must save her friends from being trapped in time forever. I found the Catcher an intriguing element in this story. Cresswell keeps it mysterious but light and humorous. This is a good book for people of all ages, especially for the young at heart. Polly is a truly lovable heroine, and you may recognise Granny Porter in some people you know! Sam is another engaging character, and you can't fail to like Granny Porter, even if she IS irritable and annoying. This is a marvellous read.

This is an amazing book. I loved the Watchers because of the great content and constant action. If you liked Moondial or any other good Sci-fi book, the Watchers is for you!!

I'm surprised this series was allowed to go out of print here....I think it's still available in England and maybe elsewhere.

The first book seems slightly different from and even inconsistent with the rest, maybe because the author hadn't developed the characters fully yet. However, it's still as good-it's hard to say which are the best, they're all great.

The Bagthorpes are an eccentric family of geniuses-make that genii-except for Jack, who is incurably ordinary. In the first book he causes a lot of trouble by trying to get noticed; in the others he mostly lets the rest of the family wreak their own havoc, and they do very well. There's Grandma, the trouble-making matriarch who cheats at very game she plays; dreamily poetic Aunt Celia, who's never quite of this world; Celia's daughter Daisy, who is allowed to set fires, write on the walls, and conspire with her imaginary friend Arry Awk; and Mr. Bagthorpe, the bitter, tormented television script writer.

The things they survive (including Fire and Flood and a Haunted House) make for hilarious reading, not to mention lots of great quotes. The tone of the books is a delightful combination of endlessly droll and deadpan/detached.

How COULD they have stop printing these books? I have loved the Bagthorpes since I first got Ordinary Jack as a kid and wanted to get the Bagthorpe series for my niece and friends who are having children. Even though I was labeled "gifted" as a child, Jack is readily identifiable and the books are written with such a gentle humor that they are well worth fighting for.

Really, are we supposed to let "Sweet Valley High" set the tone for our pre-adolescents?

If P.G. Wodehouse had been writing novels for young readers during the last quarter of the 20th century, he might have come up with something like "Ordinary Jack," the first in Helen Cresswell's series The Bagthorpe Saga. Jack, a hopelessly conventional and normal boy stuck in the middle of the madcap, eccentric Bagthorpe family, known for their prodigious achievements, wonders how he can ever get himself noticed. Uncle Parker, not so brilliant himself, sympathizes and comes up with a plan: Jack will become a prophet and go in for such mystical pursuits as visions, water divining, crystal-ball gazing and Tarot-card reading. Of course, all sorts of complications and much hilarity ensue. This very funny book and its six sequels can be found in British paperback editions and ordered from Amazon.co.uk.

I BEGAN READING ABOUT THE BAGTHORPES MANY YEARS AGO AND THEY'RE STILL A GREAT READ. ANY ONE WHO COMES FROM A LARGE FAMILY WILL APPRECIATE THE UNUSUAL PERSONALITIES AND SPIRIT OF COMPETITION THAT THRIVES. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER CHAPTER IN A FAMILY OF ODDBALLS AND FUN! PRETEENS WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK,BUT IT'S GOT ENOUGH LAUGHS FOR GROWNUPS AS WELL.