This book brought back so many memories for me. I was a huge fan of E. Nesbit and adored her stories about the Psammead (that’s a sand fairy for the uninitiated). However, you don’t need to be familiar with the original stories to read this novel. Saunders has moved the narrative forward to 1914 and a changing world on the brink of war. She has balanced the magic elements with the realism perfectly. Saunders doesn’t shy away from the horror and heartbreak that war brings, but doesn’t sugar coat it either. I found this very moving and would highly recommend it to readers from upper primary+. Hopefully, they would then be inspired to read the original stories, starting with Five Children & It.