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Product Details
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Product Description
Product Description
When Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and their baby brother go digging in the gravel pit, the last thing they expect to find is a Psammead - an ancient Sand-fairy! Having a Sand-fairy for a pet means having one wish granted each day. But the children don't realize all the trouble wishes can cause...
A timeless classic with an introduction by Quentin Blake, award-winning illustrator and first-ever Children's Laureate (1999 - 2001).
About the Author
Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) began writing stories for children after a popular children's magazine of the time approached her to write pieces about her childhood. The result was a series of bestselling children's books that have remained firm favourites, including The Railway Children, The Story of the Treasure Seekers and The Phoenix and the Carpet.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Discover E. Nesbit, Sep 26 2010
By Caroline Moore - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (Paperback)
I loved her books when I was a child in the sixties and I love to think that they have been around for over a hundred years and yet they are still wonderful stories that don't feel at all old-fashioned. The world they are set in is certainly different from ours, which adds to their interest, but the writing is immediate and there is nothing mannered or didactic that one might associate with books from Victorian times. A combination of lively, very real children, with sometimes a little magic thrown in and sometimes just the adventures children have when they're not too closely supervised, the books are fast-paced, humorous and adorably wholesome.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful children's fantasy, grounded in the real world., July 22 2010
By D. M. Farmbrough "Dave Farmbrough" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (Paperback)
It was always a little strange to me as a boy that children in books always went to boarding school and always had nannies, cooks, and maids, but we just accepted that that was how people were in books. We realised that books were written before decimalisation, and just enjoyed the stories. I am delighted that the same is still true. I read this to my son over several nights, and while he did ask about the servants and "were they like slaves", this was more an additional facet, something he could enjoy and learn from, rather than something which inhibited his enjoyment. This story is of children who behave in much the same way as modern children would, leaving parental and adult supervision at the earliest opportunity, particularly if this involves getting into adventures and meeting magical creatures. The Psammead is an ancient Sand Fairy, and the children in the story are initially frightened of him, then grow to like him and respect his wisdom (even if he's a little cantankerous). The story follows the classic "what would you wish for if you had three wishes" formula, but is done with such style that each mini adventure that follows on is enjoyable, and a learning experience for the characters, rather than just being a list of examples of a smart-alec genie's deliberately obtuse interpretation of instructions.I would say this book is suitable for children of seven to fourteen, and doesn't really require any explanation of old-fashioned terms, but there can be much gained from discussing them.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun stories and lively characters, Sep 27 2009
By Morgan Witthoft - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (Paperback)
What I love about Nesbit's work is how fresh and vivid it is; how the lives and actions of the characters are immediately recognizable and human. Across nearly a century and vast distance of class and technology, these five children could be our own. Their curiosity, resolve, foolishness, excitement, fear, bickering, confusion, and happiness could be our own.Well, I love that ... and Nesbit's sly and sharp wit.
Regarding the first review
<< the actual execution was a little too preachy or didactic for me. I like my lessons to be subtle...>>
I didn't find it preachy. Sure, the children had their wishes granted, and the results were, ahem, not what they expected. This is not preaching; it's just using a classic theme that has been the source of thousands of great stories for thousands of years, with a curious mix of modernization and satire.
<< I struggled with the way this book defined class..."poverty" means only having a few servants instead of many >>
Yes. The British gentry lived in splendid privilege, often without knowing it.
No. This does not disqualify from enjoyment any story whose characters are privileged British children.
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