Wishyouwas: The Tiny Guardian of Lost Letters by Alexandra Page

Begin here - watch this video where Alexandra Page talks about her book. 

My choice of this book was based on the very cute cover, on the idea of lost letters and the intrigue of tiny creatures working behind the scenes in the London of 1952. Alexandra Page mentions the Postal Museum. I visited this terrific small museum in 2019 and I highly recommend this as a place to take your children if you are able to visit London. Another reason this book interested me comes from my own letter box. One of my former neighbours regularly receives mysterious mail - the new residents throw these letters into the paper recycling but I often retrieve them and post them back with 'return to sender'.  The mail is mysterious because my neighbour was called 'John' and this mail is addressed to 'Jeremy' and, while every letter comes from a different address, all of them relate to archaeological/heritage matters. When I send them back I wonder if they join the piles of lost letters mentioned in this book.

Publisher blurb: 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?

Read an extract here. Here is the website for the illustrator Penny Neville-Lee.

Wishyouwas is longish book with 267 pages but I read it in almost one sitting today. This is a story that might appeal to younger children aged 7+ but it may be a little too challenging for independant reading and so I suggest you could consider this book as a family bedtime read aloud. Christmas is mentioned but this is not really a Christmas story. Here is the trailer from Bloomsbury. And in this video Alexandra reads from Chapter Seven.

The characters in this book have very sweet (and signficant names). Penny Black is the human hero of the story. Read more about the Penny Black stamp here.  Wishyouwas is her new friend. The sorting Bureau is ruled, in a very strict hierarchy, by Dearmadam and Dearsir. The guards are called Fragile and Handlewithcare and the delightful teacher is Felicitations. I especially loved the character named Thiswayup. He is a true hero in the final battle scene. 

Perhaps you are wondering about the small creatures that feature in this book? Wishyouwas is one of them - that's his name. The mail sorters are tarsiers. This is good choice because they have large 'hands' for mail sorting. They are also nocturnal - which is the perfect time for retrieving and processing lost letters.  They have long tails (and Wishyouwas nearly has his tail sliced off early in the story) and they have eyes which can see in dim light which matches with the underground setting of this story.  In reality tarsiers live in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines. 

Wishyouwas reminded me of Umbrella Mouse - which will appeal to a slightly older audience.