- Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Puffin UK; New edition edition (Oct 1 1996)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0140367357
- ISBN-13: 978-0140367355
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #603,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
A long-time favorite story of five children who discover a magical creature who grants wishes.
About the Author
EDITH NESBIT was a mischievous child who grew up into an unconventional adult. With her husband, Hubert Bland, she was one of the founder members of the socialist Fabian Society; their household became a centre of the socialist and literary circles of the times. E. Nesbit turned late to children's writing. Her first children's book, THE TREASURE SEEKERS, was published in 1899 to great acclaim. Other books featuring the Bastable children followed, and a series of magical fantasy books, including FIVE CHILDREN AND IT also became very popular. THE RAILWAY CHILDREN was first published monthly in the LONDON MAGAZINE in 1905, and published as a book in 1906 and has been in print ever since.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
The house was three miles from the station, but before the dusty hired fly had rattled along for five minutes the children began to put their heads out of the carriage window and to say, 'Aren't we nearly there?' Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The house was three miles from the station, but before the dusty hired fly had rattled along for five minutes the children began to put their heads out of the carriage window and to say, 'Aren't we nearly there?' Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be careful what you wish for...,
By kennedy19 "kennedy19" (wakefield, ma USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (Mass Market Paperback)
E. Nesbit's classic story of about some Edwardian children who find a sand fairy one summer is an unsentimental delight. Each day the odd fairy grants them one magic wish, be it beauty, wealth, great size, etc. which will only last until sunset. Somehow each wish they make turns into a disaster, but through their own cleverness and a bit of luck, the children are able to make each problem work out in the end. Nesbit's writing is particularly full of amusing asides and offbeat humor in this one. Her turns of plot are inventive, and as the plucky children face their outlandish predicaments, it becomes clear that Nesbit has her finger on the pulse of the way real children might think. Her work has held up quite well considering it is over a hundred years old. This novel would be suitable for kids in about fourth or fifth grade.
3.0 out of 5 stars
sadly, this classic does not stand up to the test of time,
By audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (Mass Market Paperback)
Edith Nesbit is a charming writer. She tells her story with wit and humour, and interjects sly digs that engender a wink and a smile, but while the premise is timeless and interesting, the prose is extremely dated, making the book a bit tedious to read for any length of time. Also, the ideas and prejudices exhibited by the characters date the material.The five siblings of the title, who have found a Sand-fairy willing to grant them one wish a day, continually make silly wishes that get them into trouble. Their first wish is to be "as beautiful as the day". Right there you get a sense of the book's outdated charm. This is of interest more as a tribute to a talented children's writer of a bygone era rather than for its own sake. I wanted to enjoy this classic, but I found it hard slogging through. That is just my opinion, however, but I'd suggest you read a bit of the text before purchasing it unless you're already familiar with, or particularly interested in, author Nesbit. Caveat: The occasional black-and-white line drawings are by H.R. Millar, not the Paul Zelinsky watercolors promised in the Editorial Reviews section.
4.0 out of 5 stars
My review of "Five Children and It",
By "kornmutter" (Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is about Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother who discover a Psammead,or Sand-fairy, who agrees to grant the children one wish per day. Soon, their wishes start to turn quite unlike what they expected. Then, an accidental wish has terrible consequences, and the kids are faced with a hard choice: to let an innocent man be charged with a crime, or to lose their gift of magical wishes. I read this book in one day, and I thought it was pretty good.
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