Evangeline, The Wish Keeper's Helper - Maggie Alderson (Penguin Group)

Evangeline the toy elephant lies under the bed all day, waiting and waiting for something to happen. If only she could be useful somewhere... Will her wish be granted?

Alderson has created a delightful fantasy, a haven for discarded toys where they are given the job of safeguarding children’s precious wishes.

Read the first chapter.

Author biography

Maggie Alderson wrote a long-running and very popular fashion column for the Good Weekend Magazine, and has published several collections of these columns as well as five previous novels: Pants on Fire, Mad About the Boy, Handbags & Gladrags, Cents & Sensibility and How to Break Your Own Heart. This is her first children's book for Penguin.

Judges’ comments

Alderson has created a delightful fantasy, a haven for discarded toys where they are given the job of safeguarding children’s precious wishes.  The central figure of Evangeline, the cuddly elephant, will appeal particularly to little girls, and her story conveys the message that good things happen to people who care about others.