Have you ever wondered what happened to the 'Five Children and It' characters when the First World War began? Cyril is off to fight, Anthea is at art college, Robert is a Cambridge scholar and Jane is at high school. The Lamb is the grown up age of 11, and he has a little sister, Edith, in tow. The sand fairy has become a creature of stories - until he suddenly reappears
Available at (EME) Mellor, (HRA) Rawtenstall and (NLA) Lancaster.
Saunders has created a simply brilliant book...E. Nesbit would be proud and honoured by this beautifully crafted, funny, heart-breaking story
Daily Mail||The return of the Psammead, as superbly grumpy as ever, was magical. This book is a delight.
Katherine Rundell, Author of Rooftoppers||This is a skillful and deeply moving piece of work: poignant, beautifully judged, not a crass pastiche but a respectful homage that recycles its source material to pack a powerful anti-war punch. Saunders's novel does what fiction does best: it focuses on individuals we care about in order to make a universal point.
Guardian||Despite lively characterisation, and realistic ambience and expressions ("a proper caution"), the voice is unlike Nesbit's, but has a skill and charm of its own, as well as compassion and conviction
The Sunday Times