I read this book as a child, when it was first published, so that should date me! For the last two years I have been searching for it; I knew it as The Talking Parcel, so had no success,my daughter is now reading well, and I really wanted to introduce her to this truly magical story. It is Harry Potter in brilliant sunshine, full of fantastic, in both senses of the word,characters, a lively dialogue, and keen descriptions. You can almost reach out and touch the colourful scenes described. Buy it, it's like a trip to a sunny beach(without the sand between your toes!)