The Racketty-Packetty House
Week of July 7, 2008
Block 7:
Racketty-Packetty house has been re-discovered by Cynthia’s nurse who declares the house must be carried downstairs and burned. The little family overhears this and scrambles to find one another to share the terrible news. Everyone is very distressed about what is to come, but Peter Piper, remembering that he is extremely brave and that he is the head of the family says, “We are only made of wood and it won’t hurt a bit. We shall just snap and crackle and go off almost like fireworks and then we shall be ashes and fly away into the air and see all sorts of things. Perhaps it may be more fun than anything we have done yet.”
But a miracle has happened. Queen Crosspatch has been notified of the news and immediately comes to the family’s rescue with her army of Fairy Workers. She orders her Fairies to hold the old armchair tight down so that the nurse cannot move it. However, she also needed a distraction. She flew to the footman to make him remember, at exactly that minute, that a box had come for Cynthia. In the box was a doll which had broken her leg and was sent to hospital. It was Lady Patsy. Everyone was so excited over the arrival of Lady Patsy that the chair and Racketty-Packetty house were completely forgotten.
The Racketty-Packetty family sat in a circle to recover their senses. Even Peter Piper was alarmed and thanked Queen Crosspatch for her help. She tells the family to leave the “alarms of fire” to her and she will attend to them and then she flew off after a good morning’s work.
DISCUSSION:
The thought of burning the little family gives me the chills. How one could just toss them into the fire . . . Peter Piper thinks it could be exciting and they would be ashes flying about in the air seeing all sorts of things. But, ashes settle and the family would never be together again. Maybe the author is saying that, like humans, as the dolls “die”, their spirits leave their bodies and go on into eternity. The family would then be all together. Maybe they would become Fairies.
It was interesting that the nurse could not see the Fairies as they
held the chair. The introduction to the book says that “If you are conceited
or ill-tempered yourself, you will never know a Fairy as long as you live.”
That must mean you can’t see them either, as well as not get to know them.
I had thought that a person just might see a Fairy, but being a conceited or
mean person, they would never get to know that Fairy.
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It is horrifying and I don't think the Racketty Packettys have any
clue that the intention is that they would go in the fire with the house. Why
in the world wouldn't they take the house and dolls to kids who MIGHT enjoy
it instead of burning it. It would be such a waste!
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Yeah, for the fairies! I wonder how many fairies it took to hold that chair in place. It's interesting how easily distracted the people are in this book.