What would you do if you are granted seven wishes out of the blue? In 1983, English writer Dick King-Smith introduced to us the idea of how a ten-year-old girl named Harmony Parker can make wishes simply by using a magical fifty-pence coin in his book The Queen’s Nose. 

In the story, Harmony imagines the people around her to be animals because she likes animals more than humans. What sort of personality or experiences could possibly lead her to believe so? Do you agree with her, and why?

How would you describe Harmony’s relationship with animals, and in which ways is it similar to or different with the ones she has with human beings?

As the story goes on, Harmony comes to understand that family is the most important, even when compared to her beloved animals. What role does Uncle Ginger’s mysterious coin play in this realisation? How would the story be different if Uncle Ginger never showed up with that coin?