Children's Writer, Book Reviewer, Teacher, Artist
Classic in feeling, warm, cute and wonderfully written, 'Wishyouwas' is a perfect children's book to snuggle up with on the run up to Christmas. Alongside Penny Neville-Lee's gorgeous illustrations, Alexandra Page's magical debut utterly charms, delivering the Christmas cheer aplenty!
In a smoggy, cold December in London 1952, young Penny Black is waiting for her mother to return from abroad. Left alone at her uncle's post office, Penny discovers a strange, though endearing, little creature scuttling through the mail. Is it a rat? No! It's Wishyouwas... a Sorter and guardian of lost mail. Under postboxes, below the London streets, in the tunnels, near the underground postal trains, there are other Sorters too, living a secret life with a special duty to return missing letters. But Penny's arrival heralds danger and it's up to her to help keep Wishyouwas and the little Sorters safe...
A few years ago I was fortunate to meet Alexandra Page at a SCBWI event in London, where a fire alarm forced us to reconvene in a pub with other writers, agents and with M.G Leonard and Peter Bunzl. I remember Alexandra telling me about her story, about these little creatures called Sorters delivering mail. I thought it was a wonderful idea and I wished her well getting an agent... Fast-forward to today and I am delighted to see her story in beautiful hardback with Bloomsbury. How lovely and inspiring to see an aspiring writer make it! And what a charming, brilliant story 'Wishyouwas' has turned out to be. It has honestly left me smiling and cheered me up when times have felt tough this December.
From the very first chapter, Alexandra Page's writing draws you into 1952 London with am assured and warm storyteller's voice - one that reads like a classic. I can't help but be reminded of classic stories like 'The Borrowers'; this is one to read aloud and snuggle up with on cold nights. I loved Penny Black and her relationship with Wishyouwas. There is such an innocent charm about them which then makes the danger they face even more high-stakes - Stanley Scrawl is a perfect villain! The Sorters themselves are superbly brought to life and there's such joy in discovering their secret community below London. It feels like the Sorters have always existed and I'm quite sure they will capture children's imagination in the same way a Paddington or a Borrower has. Combined with a wonderfully evocative (and smoggy) 1952 London, magically rendered by Penny Neville-Lee too, 'Wishyouwas' is a little package of joy for this Christmas and every Christmas to come!
https://www.waterstones.com/book/wishyouwas/alexandra-page/penny-neville-lee/9781526641212