Molly and Penelope Quirk are twins; they also have a bratty little brother named Finn. The children live with their mother and their grandfather.  That sounds normal, but the family is anything but normal.  Their grandmother  lives with them, but in a little birdhouse outside of their home. She is a fairy godmother.  Their grandfather can make time go in reverse.  Their mother has the power of mind control, except that it exhausts her to use it.

Penelope can create, in reality, whatever her mind is imagining at the time.  Finn can become totally invisible.  He can be felt and heard by others, but Molly is the only one who can see him.  Molly is normal, except for the ability of seeing Finn, but she spends most of her time trying to conceal her family’s quirks from normal people.

The family has a pet of sorts, Niblet, a furry creature conceived one day from Penelope’s imagination that refused to leave the family. Trying to keep all the strange happenings around their home from the townspeople, the residents of Normal, is very trying to all the family members.

This is a very funny story. I believe it is a good introduction to fantasy for the younger reader. It will also get the reader thinking about what is and what is not normal.  I recommend it for grades three through five.