Edie and the Box of Flits (Edie and the Flits 1) - Edie and the Flits (Paperback)

A charming story in the tradition of The Borrowers about little flying people, visible to only children, who live in the Underground and are found by a rather unhappy 11 year-old girl. * Sunday Times *
A fresh new tale. [...] Edie is a lovely character [...] it is great to see a female lead driving the story on and we should never underestimate the value of children seeing girls in this way. An enjoyable read that teaches us that looking closer can lead to adventures galore. -- North East Teacher * The Great British Book Worm *
Readers will recognise some of the local landmarks featuring in a new children's book. Alexandra Park resident Kate Wilkinson has written Edie and the Box of Flits, with illustrations by Joe Berger. The plot follows Edie who lives behind Alexandra Palace and whose dad runs the lost property office for London Transport . She finds a box on a seat on the Piccadilly Line and discovers inside a family of thumb-sized people. Kate said: "I used to spend hours sitting on a bench at Highbury and Islington station waiting for my Overground connection and watching the busy and very savvy mice on the platforms hoovering up crumbs and rubbish. "It made me think about parallel worlds in the tunnels and ghost stations and it inspired me to write this book." As well as discovering some of north London's hidden gems, such as the wilderness station at Highgate and other exciting "ghost places and secret corners", the author hopes the book will resonate with young readers. "It's all about when your childhood is changing into 'teen-hood' and what happens to your friends, your imagination, and the games you used to play in the playground," she said. -- Maryam Zakir-Hussain * Ham High *
Lost property offices are well known for their strange assortment of odds and ends... but no one in the world would expect to find a box full of tiny people with wings! Young imaginations are destined to take flight when they tuck into this magical box of tricks from former BBC Radio children's writer Kate Wilkinson as she unleashes a thrilling story with all the vibes and effervescence of Mary Norton's classic 1952 fantasy, The Borrowers. Edie and the Box of Flits - which comes with animator, cartoonist and artist Joe Berger's brilliantly atmospheric illustrations - stars eleven-year-old Edie Winter and her adventures when she discovers the amazing winged people who can only be seen by children. Edie loves going to London Transport's Lost Property Office. Her dad works there and it's always full of unexpected things. But when a mysterious box is left on a seat on the London Underground, Edie is amazed to discover that it's home to a family of Flits... tiny, thumb-sized winged people. And Impy, Speckle and Nid are desperately in need of Edie's friendship and help. Not only are they short of supplies (rice crispies, sugar sprinkles, digestive biscuits and raisins) and someone to look after them, but their brother Jot has run away and they will need Edie's help to find him. Set against the backdrop of London and its Underground network, Wilkinson's action-packed and heartwarming story about friendship and family reminds us all to notice the little things in life and to treasure each other, however big or small we might be. -- Pam Norfolk * The Gazette *