"I love this book"Michael Morpurgo A classic story about a magical miniaturefamily's adventures in wartime Japan In a dustylibrary, in the quietest corner of a house in a Tokyo suburb, live the LittlePeople: Fern and Balbo, Robin and Iris. Just a few inches high, sleeping incigarette boxes and crafting shoes from old book jackets, they need only onething from their Humans - a nightly glass of milk, served in a sparkling BlueGlass goblet, by a trusted young member of the Humanfamily. But when the Second World War comes to Japan,bringing a dangerous new kind of patriotism, both Humans and their belovedLittle People face a world they could never before have imagined. It will takegreat love, bravery, and a rather loyal pigeon, to bring their unique familiesback together once more...

"I love this book. Pushkin Children's Books are to be congratulated in making it available to an English audience. How important it is, in these times, that our children read the stories from other peoples, other cultures, other times.... While the story has elements of the work of Oscar Wilde and Hans Christian Andersen, the author admits to having been inspired by Kenneth Grahame and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry" - Guardian

"[The book] has a sensibility and a poetry of its own" - Independent on Sunday

"The Secret of the Blue Glass is a tender and beautifully written story full of adventure, hardship and cultural revelations" - Lancashire Evening Post

"A glorious fantasy story... utterly captivating" - Read it Daddy

"Enchanting and charming, and written with a lovely lightness of touch" - BookTrust

"Hurrah once again for Pushkin's wonderful mission to bring fresh translations of foreign classics to a generation of english speaking readers. First published in Japan in 1959, think The Borrowers, under the shadow of WW2" - Angels & Urchins

"A terrific story of courage, loyalty and love" - Books for Keeps

"The English translation of Tomiko Inui's 1967 classic has been a long but worthwhile wait, the author's tribute to love and courage in the face of a menacing new form of patriotism, reminding us that children's literature can both address adult concerns and provide alternatives to our failings" - Japan Times, Books of the Year

"An extraordinary book and Pushkin Children's Books are to be congratulated... the story has elements of the work of Oscar Wilde and Hans Christian Andersen" - The School Librarian

"A fascinating and absorbing read that opens up a window into another world... A terrific story of love and courage in the face of change and adversity as well as a gripping fantasy read" - South China Morning Post

"A unique and valuable read" - Lines from the Horizon (blog)