serizawa3000

Thinking about stories I read as a kid in children's magazines. Most specifically, a series about a boy named William who, due to the circumstances of stories like this, acquires a fairy godmother. Now William is a present-day (well, early 80s) kid, and the fairy godmother doesn't have a wand or wings, and does not hail from the land of summer's twilight. Instead she's immensely tall, solidly built, and dressed like an aviatrix from the dawn of powered flight, complete with leather helmet and goggles. She's from Tibet (though the illustrator drew her as not looking very Asian at all). And her magic is a little iffy. These were stories meant to inform as well as amuse, and after the introductory story where the magic and suchlike is explained (and a promise from William to eat healthier), there's a pattern of the magic acting up, William meeting someone about his age from another country (perhaps by visiting the other country), and learning what life is like for a kid in that country. The first few stories featured a touch more magic, and a Tibetan boy whose English isn't very good but improves in each story. The boy has a pet dragon (featured in only one story) and has learned transmutation courtesy of the fairy godmother, which allows him to turn into a three-headed snake or a Yeti (which complicates things when a real Yeti shows up). The last story of William I read was set in New Zealand, where he meets a Maori boy with ta moko (drawn on with a Magic Marker) and they visit the glowworm caves. The magic was limited to William being taken to these countries (sometimes at inconvenient times). I also remember a bit where William actually telephoned the fairy godmother, not taking time zones into account (twelve noon at William's house is four in the morning in Tibet.).

And of course, I can't find anything online about these stories.