The Secret pf Platform 13 / Eva Ibbotson / 250 pages / Fairy Tale Challenge

Platform 13 of King's Cross Station, London, has a secret.  It is located on a gump - "a special mound, a grassy bump on the earth," and this bump is a hidden door which opens every nine years to reveal a tunnel which led to a completely different world.  The "mysterious tunnel led to a secret cove where a ship waited to take whoever wished it to an island so beautiful that it took the breath away.  The island is populated by most unusual magical beings, people and interesting animal, including the mistmakers who in response to music emit a find, clean-smelling mist that conceals the island and its inhabitants."  The king and queen of the island are human and are heartbroken when their three-month old son is kidnapped by a Mrs. Trottle when his triplet nannies take him to London.  Nine years later, the king and queen send three trusted subjects to reclaim their prince.  Is Mrs. Trottle's son, Raymond, the prince?  Filled with magic, including a nuckelavee - a being with a man's head and a horse's body, but no skin, The Secret of Platform was a delightful find and a most engaging read.