The Girl with the Green Ear by Margaret Mahy

I was intending to ration these stories and read them slowly, but I read the first one, realised that I remembered it, read the second one, awoke another memory, and then ended up finishing the book in one sitting. And you know what? This was a fantastic trip down memory lane that scratched a book itch that I've been having for years.

The Girl with the Green Ear was one of the books that I somehow had and then lost when we moved houses. But one of the stories (Thunderstorms and Rainbows) stayed with me and I so badly wanted to read it again. I couldn't remember the title for a few years and would intermittently be seized with the urge to google for it. Eventually, I found the book.

To be honest, I was afraid that I remembered the wrong book. But luckily I didn't. Thunderstorms and Rainbows is about the town of Trickle, where it always rains. As you can imagine, this is not good for the tourism industry and the townspeople got so sick of all the complaining that they made it illegal to say "Goodness, it does rain here, doesn't it?"

One day, a rare visitor comes and says the forbidden words. So obviously Policewoman Geraldine has to arrest him. But then she finds out that this visitor likes the rain.

Thunderstorms and Rainbows is a charming little story that very clearly illustrates how changing your perspective on something can bring about huge changes.

Other stories, which are all equally delightful, include:

- the titular The Girl with the Green Ear, about a musician's daughter who leaves home to find a very special calling

- Don't Cut the Lawn, a tale about how it's ok to let lawns grow wild

- The Good Wizard of the Forest, a story about a wicked but lonely wizard with amazing baking skills (this was really poignant and I was a bit surprised at how much I felt for the wizard)

And a few more. About half the stories were like old friends while I realised I'd completely forgotten about the other half, but I enjoyed reading them all.

If you know a child who likes nature and/or reading, you might want to get this for them (if you can get your hands on a copy). Or perhaps get this for yourself, because you're never too old for a good story.