Synopsis: Publisher's description: "Five children find an odd-looking apple that speaks and has the power to 'animate the inanimate'." "... downright old hat, but well-made old hat all the same ..." "Those brought up on E. Nesbit [Five Children] will recognise the style of affectionate, argumentative family who find the stone, and even the slightly waspish Psammead way in which the stone talks. It seems a pity that [Gray] should rely on ideas so derivative when his writing is full of charm and humour." --brief review by Gillian Tindall The Observer 1965-12-12 p28 "A lively Bastable-like mixed family find a miraculous golden apple that was present at Genesis and the first beauty contest that led to the fall of Troy." --brief review by Christopher Wordsworth The Guardian 1965-12-03 p9