Wishyouwas
By Alexandra Page and Penny Neville-Lee
Blurb
Classic-feeling storytelling with bags of charm. Fans of thrilling animal adventure and enchanting underground worlds will fall in love with Wishyouwas.
It's 1952 in smog-shrouded London. Christmas might be fast approaching, but with her mum away and Uncle Frank busy running the post office, Penny Black is lonelier than ever.
All that changes when Penny discovers a small, fluffy, funny, springy and – most importantly – talking creature in the post office one night, trying to make off with a letter.
But Wishyouwas is no thief. He's a Sorter, and he soon introduces Penny to a fascinating secret world hidden in the tunnels underneath the city's streets. Self-appointed guardians of lost mail, the Sorters have dedicated their lives to rescuing letters that have gone astray and making sure they get delivered to their rightful owners.
Penny is determined to protect the Sorters, but how long will she be able to keep them safe with Stanley Scrawl, the sinister Royal Mail Rat Catcher, on the prowl? Can Penny save the Sorters and deliver a joyful Christmas?
Our Review
'I is Wishyouwas', it squeaked."
Wishyouwas is an adorable little book, a very easy read.
It is 1952 and a smog has descended on London meaning Penny's mother, an air mail pilot, is unable to return home so Penny must stay with her uncle Frank.
Penny is in her uncle's Post Office after dark when she spots what she thinks is a rat but on further inspection is revealed to be something completely unexpected. The creature is trying to run off with a letter but is spotted by Penny.
"As soon as she spoke, a small round ear popped up, followed by another. Then two huge, white, watery eyes peeped up at her, like minature-moons. They glistened in the torchlight. It didn't look much like a rat at all, close up."
Wishyouwas is a Sorter, one of many of his kind who in tunnels below London's streets. Each Sorter has adorable names related in some way to mail and the postal system. The Sorters exist to retrieve lost mail and deliver is to the rightful owner, they have a strict moral code and are most defintely not thieves.
The Law of the Letter is written in ink!
It's rules we obey without stopping to think.
We gather and solve and deliver what's lost.
Without causing trouble or damge or cost.
Penny finds herself drawn more and more into the world of the Sorters. Unfortunately for the Sorters the Royal Mail rat catcher, Stanley Scrawl, is on the hunt for them. Can Penny help rescue them and Christmas?
Wishyouwas has an extraordinary feel to it, like a real old-fashioned children's tale. The illlustrations are gorgeous too. It would make a perfect Christmas gift.
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 8 Times.
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