Five Children and It: Amazon.ca: Edith Nesbit: Books

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Product Description

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A long-time favorite story of five children who discover a magical creature who grants wishes. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

About the Author

Edith Nesbit Bland (1858-1924) published most of her work under the signature of E. Nesbit and wrote or collaborated on more than sixty books for children. Her works include The Railway Children, The Story of the Treasure Seekers, and The Wouldbegoods.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
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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

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Be careful what you wish for..., Jan 16 2004

By	kennedy19 "kennedy19" (wakefield, ma USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (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.

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3.0 out of 5 stars sadly, this classic does not stand up to the test of time, Jan 11 2003

By	audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (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.

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4.0 out of 5 stars My review of "Five Children and It", Oct 10 2002

By	"kornmutter" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puffin Classics Five Children And It (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.
This book turned out to be fairly interesting.
I would probably read "Five Children and It" again.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A cynic's delight
I doubt I would have liked "Five Children and It" even as a child: an ordinary child's troubles are so much more troublesome than the challenges these kids face, it's almost (but... Read more

Published on Jan 30 2002 by Shadowfire

4.0 out of 5 stars A 100 year old wish come true - It wont disappoint you!
I have to admit that this book has an odd title. The "Five Children" part is easy enough to figure out - that refers to Robert, Anthea, Jane, Cyril, and their adorable young... Read more

Published on Nov 26 2001 by Godly Gadfly

5.0 out of 5 stars Sandy delight
This 1902 fantasy, a gift from my parents when I was in fourth or fifth grade, features an irritable Psammead whom Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother dig up in a... Read more

Published on Nov 22 2001 by Alyssa A. Lappen

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvels and wonders
This book, now approaching its hundredth birthday, was one of the great discoveries of my childhood. Read more

Published on Nov 20 2001 by F. Kelly