This book is ageless. Anyone and everyone will take from it sadness and joy, love and acceptance, and the four disparate characters, who have been sad and lonely and a little discouraged, find love and kindness with each other. The format is unusual. Handwritten in beautiful script and full of the most extraordinary pictures – a bit of a nod to Pooh and Piglet, as well (possibly) as Saint-Exupery’s ‘The Little Prince’ - this is one of those books that you want to treasure and read and re-read. The boy is lonely until he meets the mole, who is wise and kind and loves cake. The fox comes along, and he doesn’t say much, but that is because he feels ‘like he has nothing interesting to say’. And then they all three meet the horse. Everyone seems to have issues, but they discuss them gently and philosophically in a simple way, and because the four of them become so close, they learn that love and kindness are the important things. There is a storm and an almost fatal accident and acceptance – and cake! And there is humour as well. The illustrations are outstanding. Many of them are simple, eloquent black sketches on a cream background, but the watercolours are captivating and exquisite in a different way. Our four friends think they are just ‘trying to get home’, but in the end they discover that ‘Home isn’t always a place.’ It is the people you know and love and understand you. There is wisdom here in all sorts of ways, and the whole beautiful production provides comfort in abundance. Buy it for yourself, and your children will love it too.