The Land of Neverendings

As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, another future classic from Costa Winner Kate Saunders (Five Children on the Western Front). Emily watched, in a trance of astonishment, as the bear opened the picnic basket, took out a tartan rug and spread it on Holly's bed. And then the penguin spoke. Actually spoke. 'What's going on? This isn't Pointed End!' The bear said, 'It looks like a human bedroom. We must've come through the wrong door.' 'But there aren't any doors to the hard world in Deep Smockeroon! And we don't have a human bedroom any more. We're in a box in the attic.' What if there exists a world powered by imagination? A world of silliness, where humans and their toys live on long after they've left the Hard World . . . and what if the door between that world and this one was broken? Welcome to the Land of Neverendings. Moving, raw and funny in all the right ways, The Land of Neverendings is a rip-roaring adventure, but it also gives an honest portrayal of grief for young readers, and shows us that whilst sadness does exist in the world, it doesn't have to cancel out happiness, or silliness, even when you lose someone you love. 'This is written from the heart and can't fail to make yours sing.' The Times 'Imagination, memories and new beginnings triumph.' The Sunday Times 'A beautiful and often very funny book about imagination, family and love.' BookTrust 'Funny and tender, heartbreaking and life-affirming.'Bookseller

Kate Saunders (1960 - 2023) began her career as a professional actor but moved into journalism following the publication of her first novel, The Prodigal Father, in 1986, for which she won the Betty Trask Award. Since then, Kate has written many books for adults and children. Saunders won the Costa Children's Book Award for Five Children on the Western Front, a highly acclaimed contribution to the classic fantasy series by E. Nesbit. Kate was twice shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal with Five Children on the Western Front and The Land of Neverendings. Kate's other novels include Storm in the Citadel, Catholics and Sex (co-authored with Peter Stanford), Wild Young Bohemians, Beswitched, The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop, Magicalamity and many more. Kate wrote and reviewed for newspapers and magazines including The Sunday Times, Sunday Express, Daily Telegraph and Cosmopolitan. She was also a regular contributor to radio and television, including appearances on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour and Start the Week. She was a guest on the first episode of the long-running news quiz programme, Have I Got News For You, and her acting work includes an appearance in Only Fools and Horses. The BBC children's series Belfry Witches was based on Kate's children's books about two mischief-making witches. Kate lived in London with her family. Her final children's book, A Drop of Golden Sun, edited in the months before she died, will be published by Faber Children's in March 2024.