Dogsbody and The Ogre Downstairs

I grew a little panicked the other day that Diana Wynne Jones' great books might go out of print and disappear from libraries - so I had to buy up the ones I didn't have. I purchased Eight Days of Luke (which I had already read), Dogsbody, and The Ogre Downstairs. They're written for the eight to twelve age-group, I suppose, and they're the sort of books you'd like if you're a Margaret Mahy fan (speaking of a writer whose books are now difficult to find).

Dogsbody is about Sirius, the dog star, and his fall to earth. It has an unexpected twist, but some beautiful aspects, even apart from DWJ's usual humour and originality, which make for great reading.

The Ogre Downstairs is similar to Wilkins' Tooth and so on - about siblings having to work together when magic intrudes into an ordinary world. I love how DWJ makes the kids accept magic without too much bother - she obviously remembers that kids actually do believe in magic and engage in it, to a certain extent (do you remember doing rituals and muttering incantations to get things to go your way?). I also like how the adults, especially the parents, in her books aren't uniformly good or wise or kind. Reading her biography I can understand why, but it certainly resonates, I'm sure, for a lot of readers out there. After all, even if one's parents are doing it for your own good, it doesn't take away the feeling of indignation that kids feel about their own powerlessness.

DWJ frequently includes Greek, Roman and Norse mythology, as well as British - a mix of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon, I suppose - and I wonder how many of her references little children understand. Do they go back later and does it all click? I love it, anyway.