Mystery at Winklesea

Children who have met A Gift from Winklesea, Helen Cresswell's first book about the strange creature that hatched out of a seaside souvenir, will welcome this next story about the creature's adventures with the Kane family. Written with her usual ability to make the everyday world seem magical and magic seem everyday, Helen Cresswell has given the Gift a life of its own which seems perfectly likely and convincing. As a result we're drawn into the family's struggles with the neighbours and the police and their delight in the way the Gift finally acquires a family of its own. Enjoyable and intelligent, this is marred only by another of those ridiculous 'Learn to Love Reading' stickers - which do peel off very easily, thank goodness.