Edie and the Box of Flits
Kate Wilkinson, illustrated by Joe Berger
Piccadilly Press

Eleven year old Edie Winter, a rather lonely girl, helps her dad with his job at London Underground’s lost property office where strange items often turn up. However, travelling to the office one day during half term she’s certainly not expecting to find a mysterious wooden box: a box that’s home to a family of tiny winged beings – The Flits.

It’s only people under thirteen who can see these magical little creatures, and Impy, Speckle and Nid need Edie’s help. Help that takes the form of food supplies including chocolate spread, raisins, digestive biscuits, rice crispies sunflower seeds and sugar sprinkles, somebody to look after them, but their brother, Jot, has run off looking in the Underground tunnels for Flum and other missing Flits, and Edie’s assistance is required to find him.

All manner of strange things are happening though, not least, sightings of strange sharp-eyed birds; there are complaints from passengers about missing jewellery or other small, expensive items after a journey.
Utterly intrigued by the tiny creatures Edie immerses herself in the Flits’ world, even hiding them in her school bag and they’re all determined to find the missing beings. But the Flits Edie is caring for are not easy to control; she has a tricky task to prevent them being discovered by the watchful magpin birds – a sinister lot – as well as the far from friendly Vera Creech, receptionist at the Lost Property Office who looks after a crow and is interested in the wooden box.

Kate Wilkinson has constructed the Flits’ small world brilliantly and it’s impossible not to be enthralled by her magical story of friendship, family and focussing on life’s little things. Joe Berger’s black and white illustrations are a delight be they whole page scenes, small or very small close ups.

A terrific class read aloud for older KS2 listeners as well as for individuals who like books with a touch of enchantment or a classic feel. I can’t wait for the next one in the series.