Five Children and It (Puffin Classics - the Essential Collection)
by Edith Nesbit
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Nesbit is the great-grandma of pretty nearly all the children's fantasy books we love, the first author to write really wittily for kids and without condescending to them, and the originator of the basic structure that carries on through C.S. Lewis and Edward Eager and even in a way Jo Rowling: four children, usually siblings or cousins but sometimes friends, stumble on a magical something that leads them into a series of fantastic adventures and important discoveries (gently conveyed) about the...more
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Read in July, 2007
Classic children's fantasy. Five children discover a Psammead, or sand fairy - a bizarre, foul-tempered little thing, pathologically frightened of water - in the quarry near their home. He grants them a wish per day - but somehow the wishes always seem to go wrong.
I'd actually not read any E. Nesbit before (so I suppose THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is next). This was delightful, obviously. I almost didn't want the magic to come in, I was enjoying the non-magical intro so much.
I do love the way we w...more
I'd actually not read any E. Nesbit before (so I suppose THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is next). This was delightful, obviously. I almost didn't want the magic to come in, I was enjoying the non-magical intro so much.
I do love the way we w...more
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Read in November, 2007
This is a fun book to read, and a great read-aloud. Even the older kids are coming back and listen to it again when they are free, although I am mostly reading it for Michael - I thought it would be a pity if he missed out.
What happens when your wishes are granted? It is not all as wonderful as you might think - although if you have reaad enough fairy tales, you already know it won't be!
However, I remember our Year 12 English teacher telling us that Nesbit was a fantastic stylist, who...more
What happens when your wishes are granted? It is not all as wonderful as you might think - although if you have reaad enough fairy tales, you already know it won't be!
However, I remember our Year 12 English teacher telling us that Nesbit was a fantastic stylist, who...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
those wanting to read a good old-fashioned book that still has great humor
I wasn't so fond of The Railway Children by the same author, but man, this is a whole different animal. General pronouns are all "it" instead of "one," which makes for some pretty amusing sentences (things like "A person would find the day beautiful, and it would walk amongst the beaches and consider what it wanted for lunch").
General premise of the book is that five children come upon a sand creature (called a Psammead) who can grant them one wish per da...more
General premise of the book is that five children come upon a sand creature (called a Psammead) who can grant them one wish per da...more
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Read in January, 2008
I found this book through Shannon's goodreads. And I loved it. It is a terrific fantastical story, one of those you want to pick up every few years and go through the adventures all over again(that is, if you are like me, and like to re-read a wrinkle in time, tolkein, and narnia). First, I like this narrator. You can tell he's an english chap and he's a bit spunky, his little side tidbits only enhance the story. Secondly, I like the the anticipation of what's going to happen when the fanta...more
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Read in June, 2006
Five Children and It was E. Nesbit's is the first of a trilogy, the other two in the series being The Phoenix and the Carpet and The Story of the Amulet. In it she takes an otherwise dull summer of living with the servants and turns it into a a series of adventures and lessons stemming from eleven wishes gone awry. Fortunately each wish only lasts until sunset and the servants can't see the effects of the wishes, allowing the household to continue on as normally as possible. Unfortunately eleven...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
families
I am reading this book aloud to my children. It is a wonderful story about five children who find a magical creature who agrees to grant them one wish every day. But the wishes don't ever seem to turn out quite like the children expect.
Bed time is much more fun now. Everyone gets ready quickly so we have lots of time for reading. I highly recommend this and other books by E. Nesbit. The characters are so much like my own children and the moral "be careful what you wish for . . ." ...more
Bed time is much more fun now. Everyone gets ready quickly so we have lots of time for reading. I highly recommend this and other books by E. Nesbit. The characters are so much like my own children and the moral "be careful what you wish for . . ." ...more
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I found this book, no really found it on the ground. It was the 1948 hardcover edition and I couldn't just leave where I found it. So, for years it just sat on my shelf, one day without anything to read I cracked it open. I could not put it down, I found myself thinking about this book throughout my day, wanting to get home and read this kids book. Yes, it is a kids book but it was written so well and was so different from anything that i read normally. I really love this book. I guess fiction i...more
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Read in September, 2007
I'll have to check out more of Edith Nesbit's work. So far I've enjoyed both books I've heard by her. I wish I'd gotten to know her when I was younger, as I think I would have enjoyed them even more, but I still find them incredibly charming. This one made me ask myself, "If I could have anything, but only for today, what would I wish for?". After having finished the book, I still don't know. Especially after seen all the scrapes the 4 kids got into.
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Read in November, 2007
This was on a list of books similar to the Chronicles of Narnia. It's not THAT fabulous, but I did really enjoy it and will recommend it to each of my children when it's the right time for them to read it. I love the tone the author uses to communicate with her audience and the way she doesn't talk down to children. I also thought the more subtle (at least for children) theme about what you wish for is a great message!
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This book reads a bit differently than most modern children's books, but knowing that E. Nesbitt was one of the first children's lit authors to exist should clarify why. The children in the story all get 1 wish, which lasts one day. The way their wishes all come back to haunt them makes for great entertainment. *different from the film, although both are really good*
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I had to read this for library school and totally loved it. A turn-of-the-century, episodic fairy tale about a "sand fairy" five children find while playing in the English countryside. The sand fairy grants the children one wish every day-- which always goes horribly wrong. Great children's story and I loved the tongue-in-cheek humor.
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Excellent fantasy book. This book has so many lessons for children. We couldn't stop laughing as we read this book aloud. Some times we laughed to much we had to stop reading. This book is an example that everything you wish for might not be exactly what you think.
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My very favorite children's book....It's overflowing with naughty unsupervised English children and cantankerous fairies full of magic and wishes! My copy is so worn and decrepid. I think the cover has actually come off. Sure signs of a most beloved book.
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Read in August, 2007
I know it's a classic. I know that E. Nesbit has a great authorial voice; it's the forerunner of Snicket and so many others.
But I found this book dreadfully boring. I wouldn't have kept reading it it wasn't for book club.
(August bookclub)
But I found this book dreadfully boring. I wouldn't have kept reading it it wasn't for book club.
(August bookclub)
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Read in November, 2007
A gift from British friends, who grew up loving E. Nesbit and were shocked that I'd written an entire dissertation on children's books without reading a single Nesbit. Now I have, and though I enjoyed it passably, I feel no desire to read another.
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Read in February, 2008
My daughter and I have been reading this one together. I loved watching how her mind caught at the same ideas of magic and how even magic wishes can't always make everything the way you would want it to be.
Edith Nesbit is a master of the medium.
Edith Nesbit is a master of the medium.
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Read in April, 2008
I love it when children have their own adventures with little adult involvement. They get into problems and have to figure them out by themselves. This book lets kids dream big and suffer the consequences. It's hilarious.
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Read in October, 2007
A really fun book with lots of entertaining adventures. Nesbit is doing well for a Brit with only one instance of othering. Strangely, I think I enjoyed it better the first time around though it was still lots of fun.
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Edwardian kids get to time-travel and learn to be careful what you wish for. A classic. Worth reading over and over. I re-read it recently and wow, it really holds up.
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