Book Description

To Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother, the house in the country promises a summer of freedom and play.But when they accidently uncover an accident Psammead--or Sand-fairy--who has the power to make wishes come true, they find themselves having the holiday of a lifetime, sharing one thrilling adventure after another.

Asleep since dinosaurs roamed the earth, the ill-tempered, odd--looking Psammead --with his spider-shaped body, bat's ears, and snail's eyes --grudgingly agrees to grant the children one wish per day.Soon, though the children discover that their wishes have a tendancy to turn out quite differnetly than expected. Whatever they wish whether it's to fly like a bird, live in a mighty castle, or have an immense fortune --something goes terribly wrong, hilariously wrong.

Then an accidental wish has horrible consequences, and the children are faced with a difficult choice: to let an innoncent manbe charged with a crime or to lose for all time their gift of magical wishes.Five Children and It is on of E. Nesbit's most beloved tales of enchantment.This deluxe gift edition, featuring twelve beautiful watercolor paintings by Caldecott medalist Paul O. Zelinsky, is sure to be treasured addition to every family's library.

Reviews (16)

My review of "Five Children and It"
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.

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 sand pit. Then the magic begins. The sand-fairy does not like granting wishes, and his misshapen body with bat's ears and snail's eyes bloats when he does. The wishes, lasting only until sunset, all take unexpected, funny turns.

The sand-fairy and other personalities and Victorian details render the magic entirely real-world, believable. This was my favorite children's book and I relived the delight when I found a copy to share with my own children. That this volume is illustrated by one of my favorite people from one of my favorite families triples the delight.

The book is too challenging for independent reading for children under 10, but it's a great read-aloud for small children, as are the classics of Frank Baum, E.B. White and C.S. Lewis.

Edith Nesbit was like J. K. Rowling a single mother in need of a means to support her children. Her books in their era were as popular as Harry Potter in this one. Some of her observations are surprisingly humane. Nesbit's treatment of a clan of Gypsies, for example, transcends the deep prejudice of her time. Not to worry, the book is not preachy or teachy. It's just grand, eloquent fun. Alyssa A. Lappen

Be careful what you wish for...
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.

sadly, this classic does not stand up to the test of time
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.

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 not quite) funny. Cyril, Robert, Anthea, and Jane live in a countryside mansion replete with servants, they take trips to toy stores where they can buy whatever their hearts desire (the author informs us that this is the way children ought to be brought up), and inside a gravel-pit they have found a prehistoric sand-fairy that grants them wishes, one each day, but all their wishes have been turning out rotten so far. Well, boo hoo.

It isn't the concept that bothers me; it is the execution. Baum's and Carroll's heroines face comparable situations, but neither authors' books evoked such negative reactions from me. The reasons why the children's wishes fail I found especially abominable: when peerless beauty is wished for, the maid won't let them in since they look like "eyetalian monkeys"; when wealth is asked for and antique guineas appear by the bushel, the kids are arrested for thieves; when stolen jewellery magically reappears, it is Beale, the gameskeeper, who is immediately and incontrovertibly the chief suspect; when the four wish (accidentally) for the baby to grow up, the Lamb (Or Devereuz, or Hilary, or St Maur, as he should be rightly called) becomes a snappish fop. Nesbit draws miscellaneous moralistic lessons from her tale ("I cannot pretend that stealing is right"), but what use are these lessons when you are arrested whether or not you tell the truth? I would much rather Nesbit turn a cynical eye on the people she is describing, instead of using her keen powers of observations to weave an antithetical yarn.

At least her prose is reasonable enough. Nesbit's language is lucid, and while her sentence structure is rather sophisticated, it is not unduly so. Sadly, the same cannot be said of her characters. The four children who are the novel's protagonists are essentially the only developed characters, and while they are developed rather well, with plausibility and realism, they are bland. They are honest, noble, polite, friendly, sociable, and well-off; they treat the servants and people of lower station as functionaries, tools, ways of getting from A to B, and so does the author. Thus, there is little desire on the reader's part to come to know them better. They allow little conflict, little empathy. I'm probably the first to levy the charge that they have little wit and, if not for the fact that the wishes disappear at sundown, they would have great difficulty dealing with ther wishes.

But more about those wishes: it is quite surprising how many of them are accidental. In fact, there is little premeditated wishing going on past chapter six: otherwise, Nesbit would have been hard-pressed to find a reason for the children to wish for marauding Indians. What lesson are we, as readers, to draw from this? "Word your wishes carefully?" I'm reminded of the movie "Big," in where a twelve-year-old wishes to be grown-up to impress an older girl, and instead becomes Tom Hanks and scares the heck out of everybody. Just once I'd like a book where the characters get their hearts' true desires and have to come to terms with THAT. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (19)

the railway children is a 9 out of 10 book!
I like the Railway Children a lot,especially how the author told the story. I liked Bobbie because there is something different about her,she was helpful and sweet at the same time. I am wondering where the dog James went? Other than that, the story was great!

The Railway Children is the best book
It is a story about three children who change a little town in England. The book is very adventurous in every chapter.It is a very well writen book.

Stands up
It would be tempting these days to dismiss Nesbit's Edwardian chestnut as sappy and sentimental; however, upon rereading it, I find this is simply not the case. Sure, there is innocent charm aplenty in this tale of three children whose father is mysteriously called away. The family (Roberta, the eldest girl and main character, Peter, and Phyllis) go with their mother to live in the country, and while mother tries to make ends meet by writing stories, the children explore the area, make friends with people at the train station and on the passing train, and involve themselves in a couple of daring rescues. Each chapter is like its own little adventure, but always there lingers the question of where has father gone, and how will the family pull through its crisis. Sunny the author's outlook may be, but it is not sentimental, as evidenced when the children throw a surprise party for Perks the porter and he is angered rather than glad, fearing they do it our of charity. The children fight amongst themselves, and worry, and fret, like real children of that or any era might. Throughout the story, the reader comes to enjoy this country town and its cast of ordinary but amusing characters. The story's ending is actually very moving in its simple way. A classic.

Wonderful story...
This is one of my favorite children's books! The characters are lovable and (for the most part) believable, the story is exciting, and the ending--well, the ending is marvelous! It is the kind of book you can read over and over again(I have) and never get tired of it(I haven't). I am not, in general, the type to cry over books, but I must admit I cry every time I read the end!:) They are tears of joy, though. If you love a good story with a happy ending, read this book!

Another childhood favourite
This was a book my mother had grown up on, and one that she passed on down to my sister and I. Although hardly a modern story this book is a classic tale of a family learning how to start over, in circumstances far different from those they are accustomed to. The true magic, however, lies in this books portrayal of sibling relationships....a simpler and more innocent time perhaps; but, stories of families will never really get old. ... Read more

Book Description

The four children acquired the magic carpet when they found a special fire egg -- it hatched in their nursery fireplace.The phoenix came from the egg, and when he saw their mother's new Persian rug, he showed them that it was a magical thing -- a flying carpet that would take them any time and that place they could wish for.Witty, genuine, full of timeless sympathy and childish sensibility, _The Phoenix and the Carpet_ offers a special ride through wonders for children of all ages.(Jacketless library hardcover.) ... Read more

Reviews (3)

the phoenix and the carpet
"The Phoenix and the Carpet" is about four children who find a carpet and then a phoenix shows up and tells them it's a magic carpet. The children have many adventures with the phoenix and the carpet including many in other continents and a place where there can be no whooping coughs. At the end, the phoenix has to part from the children. I thought this was a great book not only because it had magic and it was JK Rowlings' favorite author; but also because it was a fun well-written book.

A BLEND OF PRESIAN AND ORIENTAL LORE
Children might be tempted to believe that there are Wish Granters floating about, if one can just find them! This fanciful tale is set in Victorian England--an era of gas jets, scullery maids and coal hobs. Four children (as in THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE) discover a special fire egg which hatches in their nursery fireplace. Then their mother purchases a Persian carpet, which provides the vehicle for Space (if not Time) Travel. It even responds to written commands and obeys instructions without a human pilot.

All this magical flying about in response to wishes reminds me of the cloak in THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE and Mary Norton's THE MAGIC BEDKNOB. Nesbit's style also reminds me of Beatrix Potter, with many asides, advice or explanations directed to the reader. The setting returns us to the ingenuous nursery days of AA Milne's stuffed animal world.

The story takes place around Christmas and the children wrestle with their consciences over moral issues concerning the unexplained acquisition of wealth, curios, toys and pets. How much to reveal to skeptical parents and how ethical it is to whisk unsuspecting adults away to a remote island or to allow rational people to assume they are insane or just dreaming. How can the siblings plus their baby brother (called the Lamb) ever return to the status quo, since they can only enjoy their carpet rides and conversations with the Phoenix in secret?

This book is too naive for the elementary kids of the 90's, but it would be a good selection to read aloud, one chapter a night before bedtime to younger children. The more you have read of Children's Literature, the more you will recognize from other books. This one may have been the inspiration for the others...!

An extraordinary amusing and amazing book. A charming myth.
The phoenix in an ancient animal, or to be more exact - bird. It falls into the hands of five cute children, who takes a real good care of it. It also brings along a magic carpet, just like everyone would like to have at home. The phoenix, is very bright, and its presence sure makes things much more interesting and fun. Its one of the books I liked the best. ... Read more

Book Description

Magic turns up in the most unexpected places in E. Nesbit's madcap fairy tales--and so do dragons: One flies out of the pages of an enchanted book and eats an entire soccer team.... Two children try to wake St. George when a plague of dragons descends on modern England.... Wicked Prince Tiresome sets forth to hunt a fiery dragon with a pack of trained hippopotamuses.... One hundred years after its first publication, this collection of 8 of Nesbit's most delightful fantasy stories returns and is still every bit as fun as when it was first published. Its original 16 black-and-white illustrations are also included in this must-have for all Nesbit fans. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

My review
I think this book is cool. it was about adventure, magic, action and even humor!!!
I did a book report on this book to!!

A classic, like all of Nesbit's children's books.
E. Nesbit's books have a well-deserved place on my shelf next to the C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, and more recently, Harry Potter. I discovered her books through those of Edward Eager; if you have read and enjoyed any of E. Nesbit's books before, I recommend you take the opposite journey and check out Eager's books now (start with Half Magic.) A real treat. ... Read more

Book Description

Afterword by Peter Glassman. "Originally published in 1907, this book concerns four likable English children and their adventures with a magic ring. It's hard to imagine a more appealing showcase for Nesbit's fantasy than this handsome volume....Zelinsky's artwork is as lively as the story and very much of the period....Beautiful."--Booklist. A Books of Wonder Classic. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Nesbit: An Author of wonder!
The reason I only gave this book 4 stars is because of out of the 5 Edith Nesbit Books I have read so far...this is my least favourite. I think it is beacuase of how it is written. It, to me, was lacking something all the other books she wrote have. I also did not particularly enjoy the beginning of the book, as it started out dull etc. But as it went on...I fell in love with the four children. One thing that is very evident in this book is the thing of good magic. Evrything thing seems to be filled with it, therefore making the story all the better and all more exciting. I loved how it showed each of there adventures, and each of there luck with the magic ring. I also got a few laughs out of the children's injinuity. This is truly a classic, but not my favourite Nesbit book. It certainly is worth getting though.

Harry Potter 100 Years Ago
Working in a bookstore, I meet a lot of people, especially parents buying books for their children. As you can imagine, several of them ask, "What do you have that's like Harry Potter?" I always recommend E. Nesbit's books. They never know who I'm talking about. But they usually become interested very quickly.

Edith Nesbit was an outspoken British writer who wrote enormously entertaining children?s books in her later years. Many of these books combine normal, everyday children with magical themes or elements. In 'The Enchanted Castle,' three children - Gerald, Cathy, and Jimmy - stumble upon a lush, beautiful garden, where they find a princess who has been asleep for 100 years. Or is she really who she says she is? All the children know is that something strange is going on - like why are the statues moving?

'The Enchanted Castle' IS enchanting. The writing is colorful, exciting, and engaging. If your child is looking for something in the Harry Potter vein, the E. Nesbit books are just what the doctor ordered. Kids won't even care that it was written nearly 100 years ago. It still reads pretty well today, and that's what counts.

291 pages

The book that launched a thousand fantasies
This book launched a whole subgenre--fantasy books in which a group of three to five children (usually mixed gender) cross the boundry between the everyday world into the world of fantasy. It is the inspiration behind CS Lewis's Narnia books, Edward Eager's books, and generations of more recent novels. And it happens to be a wonderful read! My eight-year-old adored it--she's a huge Harry Potter fan (another series in Nesbit's debt) and thought this one was fabulous, though the Victorian language did slow her down a little.

The Enchanting Book
My children and I have been reading this as our bedtime book. My son, age 8, was going to read it himself, but we soon found his sister, age 6, wanted me to read it instead (so I could do the "voices") so it has been turned into the nightly story. The characters: Gerald, Kathleen, and Jimmy are each drawn clearly and individually. My children are fascinated with Gerald's way of speaking as though he were telling a story. And they love Kathleen's way of alternating between being practical and yet longing for all things "magical". Jimmy is funny and endearing, as he is at that age of Not believing and yet eager for adventure. Their friend Mabel is full of mystery and make-believe and soon pulls them into a grand escapade. The author is able to vividly paint each person and each scene. It is with great reluctance we put the book down after a couple of chapters each night, wanting to finish all at once, but wanting the magic to last a little longer. When we finished, we all decided it was one of our favorites. Extremely well written. I did not find even the beginning dull or slow. From start to finish, this is one of the best children's books I've found. And we've read very many.

This is a Great Book
I loved "The Enchanted Castle." It has the same quality that is in all of Edith Nesbit's books--thought provoking and fun. I really like how in all of Edith's books, her characters find out that magic can be annoying when you meddle with it. In other books, like Harry Potter and The Gammage Cup, you seem to get the idea that magic is essential.
In the Enchanted Castle, the characters are Mable, the houskeepers niece, Gerald, the one who knows how to manage grownups, Kathleen, "Cathy Puss Cat," and Jimmy, who is always thinking about his tea. Of course, there are other characters, but I would use up about 6 pages writing them all.
The children find a magic ring that makes you invisible, four meters tall, and is a wishing ring--as well as other things like that. The ring helps them earn money, get into scrapes, and bring two old lovers together again! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Very clever and, yes, enchanting!
This is one of those special children's books that has captivated me, as well my son. The text is filled with funny remarks for parental appreciation. And it appeals to a child's imagination, portraying the child as probelm solver as well as trouble maker. The story resolves in a surprisingly clever way, dispelling all the trouble caused by the dragon. This is a witty enchanting fantasy!

Kindling Imagination in a New Generation
The illustrations are lovely and the story is enchanting, but the way The Book of Beasts has inspired my 4 year old daughter's imagination is priceless. I have read it to her more times than I can count and neither of us ever tires of it, she loves the pure fantasy and magic in this book. She now fantasizes that she has her very own hippogryph (how many 4 year olds know THAT word??!!) and she flies all over the world with it. Not only is this book a treat in and of itself, but because it's beautiful illustrations and enchanting tale have inspired these wonderful flights of fancy I'm able to teach her about different countries: I simply ask her to whisper a destination into her hyppogryph's ear and close her eyes, and I take her to that place with words, describing as much as I can about the landscape and culture and people there -- but recently her hippogryph has been getting lost on it's way to Disneyland and ending up in places like Greece and Malta and Thailand.... ;-)

The first time we read it my daughter was bothered that the manticora ate the cats in town, especially since we have two cats. So I had to reassure her that first time, by skipping forward to show her that they were fine and happy in the end (was that one of the changes made in the update??) and then going back and continuing the story -- it worked and now she's fine with that part.

If you have young children in your life share this lovely tale with them. You won't regret it!

Watch Out For That Dragon!
This book is a lot of fun, sparkling with the wit of E.Nesbit and filled with fantastic beasts that stir up quite a bit of trouble for a little boy whose great-great-great-great-great grandfather has died and left a kingdom to him. The original, unabridged version was written in 1900 and is included in a collection of stories called "The Book of Dragons". Inge Moore's new version of the story of the Book of Beasts is a wonderful opportunity for us to enjoy these fun-filled characters and the gentle humour of this great childrens' author.
Meet the Blue Bird of Paradise, the huge Red Dragon,the Manticora, and the beautiful Hippogriff and discover young King Lionel's thoughtful solutions to the problems they create when they spring to life straight off the pages of the magical Book of Beasts.
Moore's illustrations are colorful and comic and I enjoyed them a lot. I am so pleased that this captivating E. Nesbit tale is once again available to a wide readership. Don't miss it.

100 YEARS LATER AND IT STILL ENCHANTS
This reissue of the classic tale by E. Nesbit originally published in 1900 is more than welcome, it's a joy. Abridged and illustrated by Inga Moore it will fascinate and entertain another generation of youngsters.

The Book Of Beasts revolves around Lionel, a young boy who learns that he is to be king. He is informed of this startling news by two elderly robed gentlemen wearing gold coronets "with velvet sticking up out of the middle like cream in jam tarts."

After being crowned he is delighted to find a wondrous library in the palace. Lionel is drawn to a large brown book that lay on a table; it was titled "The Book Of Beasts." When he opened it he saw a painting of a beautiful butterfly. Most amazing of all, the butterfly flew right off the page!

Even though the chancellor warned him not to look at the book, Lionel crept back to the library during the night and looked at the book once more, and he looked again the next day when, horrors, he came upon a page marked "Dragon," and the most fearsome beast was released.

Now, it has fallen to King Lionel to find another beast in the magic book, another beast strong and brave enough to defeat the dragon so that the people will be saved.

One hundred years later The Book Of Beasts still enchants. ... Read more

Download Description

When we came out we walked a long way, and when we asked a policeman he said we'd better go back through Smithfield. So we did. They don't burn people any more there now, so it was rather dull, besides being a long way, and Noel got very tired. He's a peaky little chap; it comes of being a poet, I think. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Lots of not-understood references
I'll set the record straight first: I'm American, and I know Nesbit was English. That accounts for some of the references being undecipherable. Also, she wrote about 100 years ago. That accounts for more of the references being undecipherable. And lastly, I know that it's almost impossible for any two people (say, Nesbit and me) to have read all the same books and have all the same cultural references in our heads. That accounts for some of the references being undecipherable.

I was rereading this the other night and idly decided to make a note of every reference that I didn't understand. Through a 242-page book, I found 24 references. My husband is English, so I checked some of these with him on the off chance that some of them were still going concerns in the UK today...most of them weren't. Here are a few things we couldn't figure out. I'm paraphrasing because my notes are here but my book is not.

"You know let dogs delight"

"What happened to the guinea pig? Of course you know the answer to that." (There was no reference to a guinea pig in the discussion under way.)

"Tourbillon"

"Boys of England" books

"The red deer that Edward shot...we were Children of the New Forest..."

"Gaboriau"

"Going to Klondike"

There are more, but that's kind of the gist of it. Anyway, despite all this, the book is still an OK read and the kids do some entertaining things a la typical Nesbit. That's why it got 3 stars instead of only 1.

Realistic, funny, creative children of the early 1900s
A word about me--I am the mother of four children ages 7-17 and have always loved to read. My favorite books as a child are still a pleasure for me today, although I read them more critically now: the Narnia books (where I first read about the Bastables on the first page of "The Magician's Nephew"); "A Little Princess," "The Secret Garden," "Little Lord Fauntleroy," and "Toinette's Philip;" "Little Women," "Ivanhoe," "Tom Sawyer," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "Hans Brinker," "Tales of King Arthur," "Scottish Chiefs," etc. After my children were born I discovered new classics: Edward Eager, "The Phantom Tollbooth," Philip Pullman, Diana Wynne Jones, Lloyd Alexander, and of course Harry Potter.

The Bastable books were written for literate children of 8-14 almost a hundred years ago, and may be a little difficult for the easy-reader child of today, who thinks Harry Potter is full of hard words! It also has an "I" narrator, which many children do not like. But E. Nesbit was one of the first great children's writers, and in my opinion this is the best of all her books.

Although E. Nesbit is rightly well-known known for fantasies like "The Phoenix and the Carpet," "The Enchanted Castle," or "Five Children and It," this book is not a fantasy. The Bastables are six lively children who live in a dreary London suburb in a row house. Their mother is dead, their discouraged, rather milquetoast father has lost all his money. The children are left to their own devices, since they can no longer afford to go to school (this is the turn of the 19th century). They decide to go about seeking their fortune, and do so in the most imaginative and amusing ways. They often get into trouble, bicker, pout, and basically act like real children; but their emphasis on old-fashioned honor and bravery is a welcome change from modern books. Many of the scenes are very funny, especially to older readers who can figure out what is really happening, versus what the children think is happening. It is also fascinating to see how creative the children have to be to entertain themselves-- which they are very good at! and to marvel at how much more freedom of movement children had in those days. No one is worrying about their safety as they travel around London alone all day long. The narration itself is clever, both because the narrator, who is one of the children, tries to write in a literary style (with funny results), and because the narrator is trying to fool the reader.

The children accidentally bury alive a neighbor boy who "doesn't know how to play," ruin a fishing contest, kill a pudding, play with a real princess, meet a famous politician and a poet, and set out to catch a burglar. They quarrel over lost balls, who should pay for treats, and who has to take care of the youngest brother, whom they have nicknamed after a cereal ad, and who always insists on tagging along. You find yourself laughing and realize that these could be children you know today. There is almost no Victorian/Edwardian sentimentality (some may have been required to be publishable in those days, just as political correctness is now), and only a few convenient happy endings.

This book brings the past to life more vividly than almost any I have ever read. I find myself thinking of it whenever I read about that period of history. It's odd to think the boys would have been just the age to fight and perhaps die in the First World War. The Bastables are a children's classic.

Good read, but not Nesbit's best
The Treasure seekers is a story about a small group of children who try and earn money to help their father (an unsuccessful businessman). The children, along the way, meet lots of characters in turn-of-the-century England. Nesbit really understands children and can write delightfully about them. There are lots of very funny episodes in tbe book.

Nonetheless, this is not Nesbit's best work. Enchanted Castle, Five Children and It, Phoenix and the Carpet are better, since they also incorporate magic. This book is also distinctly unPC in some places, for instance in its description of a Jewish character (he's a miserly moneylender), and is to that extent a product of its times.

No pocket money? Can't afford school?
How would you solve your money problems? The 6 Bastable children find inventive ways to make a shilling or two. They dig for treasure, kidnap a neighbor, write and sell poetry, and more. Best of all, they don't go to school. What could be more fun? Spying on a politician, perhaps?

Treasure ho!
The Treasure Seekers concerns a family of six children in turn-of-the-century England. Their mother dead and their father impoverished through the malfeasance of his business partner, the Bastable kids try a number of schemes to renew the fortunes of the House of Bastable. The story is charming, but the narrative style will win both children and adults. Oswald, the second-eldest sibling, narrates the tale without holding back on his opinions as to how a story should be told. (Example: "There are some things I must tell before I begin to tell about the treasure-seeking, because I have read books myself, and I know how beastly it is when a story begins 'Alas! said Hildegarde with a deep sigh, 'we must look our last on this ancestral home' -- and then some one else says something -- and you don't know for pages and pages where the home is, or who Hildegarde is or anything about it.") I'm happy to find this book is in print in the US -- now I'm going to look for The Wouldbegoods... ... Read more

Book Description

When young Philip Haldane builds a play city out of odds and ends, the fantastic creation comes to life, and he and new stepsister Lucy are magically transported into it. Now they must try to save the Magic City by fulfilling an ancient prophecy--despite a mysterious adversary determined to steal their glory for herself. How Philip and Lucy come to forge a friendship and together triumph over impending disaster makes for a riveting read. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Nesbit's best
More than a quarter of a century ago my sisters and I were captivated by E. Nesbit, and particularly by THE MAGIC CITY. Long unavailable (I have scoured used book shops and the Net for copies for various children) it is great to have it easily available once more. I am happy to report that my own daughter was as taken with it as her aunts and I a generation earlier, and like us she at once began building magic cities of her own. I realize that I risk the wrath of Potterites everywhere, but I suspect that in a hundred years children and their parents will still be enjoying The Magic City while Harry is at most the subject of earnest dissertations on odd trends in the early 21st century. If you have a spark of imagination and an eager child handy, grab this book.

If you love Harry Potter, try this!
Years before I even heard of Harry Potter, my mother picked up the 1910 Macmillan hardcover version of this book at a garage sale for a mere fifty cents. (Imagine, a turn-of-the-century copy of a great book for fifty cents!) At first I was put off by its volume (333 pages with illustrations) but I managed to lap up every last word of it...about seven times, I think.

Philip Haldane, our hero, and his half-sister Helen are orphans. Helen has been Philip's sister, teacher and playmate for what seemed like all his life, and there wasn't a shadow of a doubt in his mind that this would go on for ever; he wanted it to. But the unimaginable happens -- Helen marries and goes honeymooning around Europe, leaving Philip at his new residence, friendless and bitter. But soon his new, seemingly dreary life is changed by his embarking on an exciting adventure, so splendid and picturesque that he never would have dreamed that he had built it with his own hands. You see, Philip had always played building games, and he built not with plain old building blocks but with...well, everything -- everything from ink-wells to bronze Egyptian figurines! And it was while he was in the depths of his misery and pining harder than ever to see his sister again that he, the Creator, discovered it -- his Magic City -- and its delightful secrets.

Now, to look at it from a Harry Potter fan's viewpoint. I shouldn't be giving any clues, you really should have read this book at least once before comparing it with HP, but I'll just say...Philip is of course the Harry Potter of this book, but he is also the Ron Weasley because of his initial malice towards his new stepsister, Lucy -- the Hermoine Granger of this book. The Grey Nurse is the Snape/Malfoy/Voldermort figure of this book. The Great Sloth is rather like Scabbers, and Polly is somewhat Hedwig-like. And Mr. Noah is almost EXACTLY like Professor Dumbledore; if you look at the part of the book when he goes to visit the prison, you'll know what I mean :)

If that still doesn't grab the average Potter fan's attention, how about this: J.K. Rowling favours E. Nesbit as one of her must-reads! Enjoy...

The Book I Spent Ten Years Looking For...
Edith Nesbit is one of the most imaginitive children's writers around - and she's been around for a hundred years!

This is her best book. A boy dreams and finds himself in an equally real world, made up of the pretend cities he's made while awake.

I read The Magic City back in 1989 and spent years searching in second hand books stores for my own copy until I tracked it down on amazon.com! ... Read more

Book Description

While exploring the environs of their summer home, five brothers and sisters find a Psammead,or Sand-fairy, in a nearby gravel pit: "Its eyes were on long horns like a snail’s eyes, and it couldmove them in and out like telescopes; it had ears like a bat’s ears, and its tubby body was shapedlike a spider’s and covered with thick soft fur; its legs and arms were furry too, and it had handsand feet like a monkey’s." The Psammead is magical and, every day, the ancient and irritablecreature grants each of them a wish that lasts until sunset. Soon, though, they find their wishesnever seem to turn out right and often have unexpected—and humorous—consequences. Butwhen an accidental wish goes terribly wrong, the children learn that magic, like life, can be ascomplicated as it is exciting. ... Read more

Book Description

"THERE were once four children who had the good fortune to find in the sandpit a strange creature. Its eyes were on long horns like snail's eyes, and it could move them in and out like telescopes. It had ears like a bat's ears, and its tubby body was shaped like a spider's and covered with thick soft fur -- and it had hands and feet like a monkey's. It was old, old, old, and its birthday was almost at the very beginning of everything. But it still kept its fairylikeness, and part of this fairylikeness was its power to give people whatever they wished for."You know fairies have always been able to do this. The four children found their wishes come true; but, somehow, they never could think of just the right things to wish for, and their wishes sometimes turned out very oddly indeed. . . ."(Jacketless library hardcover.) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

80 out of 100
I liked "The Story of the Amulet", by Edith Nesbit. It is a well written and thought-provoking book. The children introduced in "The Five Children and It" and seen again in "The Pheonix and the Carpet" are back once more to finish the trio. As in "The Pheonix and the Carpet", this is a travelling book. However in this book the children travel in both time and space to search for the other half of an amulet that, when joined, will give the children their heart's desire. I removed a star for a few reasons. One, out of the five books by Nesbit that I have read, this is ranked 5th. That is not to say that this was a bad book. It's just that I thought the other ones were better. Two, I like the books where the characters are granted wishes best, as in "The Five Children and It". However, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes magical happenings, time travel, and those who liked other Edith Nesbit books.

An excellent book!
This book is one really fun and exciting adventure. E. Nesbit is one of the best children's authors ever. I suggest that anyone interested start with Five Children and It, which is even better. I would recommend this book to anyone!

Title.
I like edward eager, who says every1 should reads e nesbit so im gonna.

A classic children's fantasy set in Edwardian London
E. Nesbit completed her best known trilogy of fantasy books with The story of the Amulet. It returns us to the lives of the brothers and sisters we met in Five Children and It and The Phoenix and the Carpet. But the tone is darker and the freedom from adult observation is due to lonelyness rather than holiday freedoms, as was the case in the earlier novels. The children's parents are in danger of their life, and they find themselves faced with the chance to help when they meet the iracible Psammiad again. It leads them to a time travelling amulet, which might have the power to grant them their hearts desire.

Much of the charm of this book comes from the realism of the children's characters. No matter that they dress in the plus fours and petticoats of the Edwardian age, their bickering and wonder in the face of magical events makes them timeless.

A marvelous book, and a farewell to a familier group of children hovering on the verge of adulthood. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

One of E. Nesbit's best
One of the delightful things about this book is that it treats children as thinking beings, yet still manages to contain all of the magic and adventure of childhood. As in all of her work, E. Nesbit tells an exciting story while encouraging the reader to consider the meaning of things.Oneof the best books written by one of the best children's writers of alltime.

Phantastic Literature of the best kind - to be reread again
Two 10-year-olds are the last survivors of a long line of english aristocrats.The family castle lies in ruins, but the children are determined to restore it to its former glory with the help of the long-lost family treasure. The task seems daunting, but they soon discover there's some intricate, powerful magic in the family crest.. Subsequently the treasure hunt hurtles along at breathtaking pace. The magic includes frequent trips into the turbulent (and dangerous) times of England's feudal past to discover the exact time and place where the treasure was hidden.. This book and it's sequel (or prequel?!) "Harding's Luck" can't be recommended enough. They are children's classics of the nicest kind - not the least bit sirupy - but full of adventure and magic ... Read more

Reviews (5)

an elderly englishman's view
I'm buying 'Harding's Luck' for one of my 6 grandaughters - a very bright girl in Australia coming up for eleven years old, about the age I read it myself, with huge enjoyment. Her mother tells me that her daughter spurns the modern children's novels she gives her on the grounds that they're "too real" - unlike the books sent by grandfather - as e.g 'Wind on the Moon" by Eric Linklater most recently (highly recommended for 10 year-olds,if you can find it!).
'Harding's Luck' does wear its heart on its sleeve but no more than any of the great 19th century novelists of France, Russia or Britain - or indeed the USA, - and what's wrong with a novel with a message anyway? In fact it's no more 'naive', as one of your reviewers characterises it, than "The Railway Children" made twice into films. It's a lot less preachy and sentimental than say, Little Lord Fauntleroy,whose rags-to-earldom plot line, with adult redemption thrown in, is not so far removed. But in the hands of Nesbit who unlike F. Hodgson Burnettis a 'real' writer, traditional material is transmutedthrough imagination into something rich and strange and original.
Stylisticallytoo, it is right up to Nesbit's best form - try reading it aloud.
Finally Harding's Luck has all the elements that will capture a child's sympathy and imagination : injustice, poverty,deformity,magic, romance, suspense, sacrifice,andtriumph over adversity.And with twist - the happy ending is not quite happy.

Piers Croke
London

Hard Luck - No Stars
As an enormous E Nesbit fan and an avid collector of her books I can barely describe the glee with which I embarked upon Harding's Luck. Not only a new Nesbit book, but a sequel to The House of Arden - one of my top three Nesbit picks. Alas for me this book was a sad disappointment. It was bad enough that Edred's growing up in Arden eclipsed the truly magnificent Elfrida, but in Harding's Luck cousin Richard cheats them both out of any accomplishment. This would be bad enough, but Dickie our hero is cast in the `little lame beggar boy with the heart of gold' mold. After dozens of books with keen and natural renderings of children, this sugar spun Pollyanna crossed with Tiny Tim is flat and forced. As a bit of pure conjecture I will throw the blame on the social agenda of the plot thus demonstrating that very rarely does good art come from politics over observation. All that being said, it is Nesbit and it is the conclusion to the Arden story so I suppose it must be read. However for a book to wash down this one's bitter taste I suggest The Enchanted Castle, Five Children and It, or The Treasure Seekers.

Dickens would be proud
Many of Edith Nesbit's books are not so much novels as they are sequences of shorter stories (perhaps they were published, or meant to be read, serially?)Harding's Luck and its companion, The House of Arden, have farmore complex and interwoven plots.The events in the lighter House ofArden form only a part Harding's Luck, as Dickie is a much fuller characterthan Edred and Elfrida.They must have been plotted together, as eachcontains references to the other.

As in The Psammead and the Carpet,there are numerous instances of Nesbit's socialist views (not in the modernsense of big government, more along the lines of GK Chesterton's definition"A socialist is a man who wants all the chimneys swept and all thechimney sweeps paid for it.").Children will never notice these;adults may find them sweet but sadly naive.

In their richness of plot andcharacter, and in the sense of something deeper and truer lurking behindthe superficial magic, these two are probably the crown of Nesbit's work. Givn the fact that the paperback copy of Harding's Luck costs $10, it'sworthwhile to shell out another $7 for the hardback, so you'll have itlonger.

I love this book too.
It's not like the same old fairy tale but more than that. I read it a long time ago when I was a student reading from library, just waiting for paperback so more suit to my pocket.

A great fantasy story.
"Harding's Luck" is one of E. Nesbit's classic fantasies, though darker and more Dickensian than most.It is something of a sequel to her "House of Arden," but has a different hero and can stand alone quite well.It's an English time-travel story, and its hero Dickie is a great hero.One of my two favorite by Nesbit (and I've read them all.) ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Valuable Stories
This is a great book. I bought it when I was about to go on a trip, and I couldn't read it until I got on the plane. I allowed myself to read one story. The story was "The White Cat". Now, this was a great story, with a great charector. The white cat enchanted me, especialy because my grandmother had a white china cat. It was all I could do to wait until the plane to read the rest, but I did. The rest of the book was great, too, but my favorite story was still the White Cat. Some of my other favorite stories were Belenda and Bellamont, the Princess and the Hedge Pig, and the Cathood of Maurice. These are really great stories. After awhile, I got my grandma to give me her own white cat, and I felt so glad. These stories have great effects on the readers.

Magic and common sense!
I have to say, I love E Nesbit's works! It's not just the magic, it's the characters and humour, and I love the way real-life situations mix in with the magic! (hmmm... mentioned 'magic' twice already...)
There are twelve stories in all... and I can't summarise them all for you... but "Septimus Septimusson" (my favourite) was amusing, about the seventh son of a seventh son who had to go seek his fortune. Unfortunately I can't think of anyway to summarise this story either (gives away the "plot line"), so in conclusion:
MAGIC + HUMOUR + REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS + HUMOUR
I'm sorry it's not a very good review, though.

If I Could Give This Book 10,000 Stars -- I Would! :)
This book is a collection of short stories, and finding it again has been a highly emotional experience for me. I had read it YEARS ago in the Library when I was but a small child, and loved every syllable of it; then the Library LOST it, and I pined for it terribly. I had even forgotten its title (I had *thought* it was "Nine Unlikely Tales" -- perhaps an alternate title?).

Then about eight years ago, as an adult of 32, I FINALLY laid hands on a copy of "The Magic World" once more. Oh my! How I adored reading those old fine magical stories again! How I wept -- WEPT! -- to read all those old stories which I had so long loved and lost and now found again! Who could ever forget such stories as "Accidental Magic", or "The Cat-Hood Of Maurice", or "Kenneth And The Carp", or "Belinda And Bellamant; Or The Bells Of Carrillon-Land"??? This last has a very catchy verse in it ("Out! Out! Into the night!/The belfry bells are ours by right!") which I have never forgotten and which I looked for -- and found -- and triumphantly BELLOWED at the very top of my lungs the instant the book was again in my hands! Ah, me!!!

These stories are all "Classic Nesbit", and even if the book is "brand new" to you and not nostalgic as it is for me, it is still well worth the getting, and at a VERY reasonable price!

One final note of historic literary interest: the story "The Aunt and Amabel" -- with its train station tucked away inside a wardrobe in a spare room -- was C. S. Lewis' inspiration for setting the land of Narnia inside a similar wardrobe in "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe". :)

A rather interesting story-line.
This is not your usual one-plot story, instead it is a collection of short stories about children who have magical adventures. I think the one called "Justnowland" is the best one but there are some really good ones. Anyone who likes Narnia or Middle Earth will enjoy this, I think. ... Read more

Book Description

At the heart of any great work of literature is a story. William Shakespeare's plays are no exception. They tell the stories of kings and queens, of ghosts and witches, of romance and passion. But to get to the stories at the heart of the Bard's plays, the reader must first work through Shakespeare's language, a task often too demanding for younger readers (and for many adults). This new paperback edition brings ten of Shakespeare's greatest plays to life. E. Nesbit, the classic British children's author, shakes off the burdensome complexity of Shakespeare's language and tells the stories at the core of the plays with a generous sprinkle of wit and humor. Her graceful, vivid retellings, written in highly accessible and lucid prose, are the perfect introduction to Shakespeare's work.

All of these major works are included in this anthology: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, As You Like It, The Winter's Tale, and Twelfth Night. The text is illustrated with dramatic black-and-white photographs from contemporary productions of the plays by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Stratford Festival (Ontario, Canada), and the Folger Library's Shakespeare Theater. Also included is an afterword by Peter Hunt, a leading scholar of children's literature.

These retellings of the classic tales of one of the world's greatest playwrights remind us that it is never too early for Shakespeare. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

this is not for grade school age children
I bought this to read to my 9 year old son. The language used in this book was very advanced. I found the difficulty level to be just a notch below the actual plays. I found a book called "Stories from Shakespeare" by Geraldine McCaughrean which was much better and my son is enjoying reading "Shakespeare".

Children will now understand Shakepeare!
Edith Nesbit is a wonderful writer, who keeps the integrity of the Shakespeare plays, and makes them understandable to young readers.

I read these stories to my boys, who love to hear all the tales of sword fights, king and queens, difficult lives, funny situations, and times of long ago.

For me, it has been a great overview of famous Shakespeare plays that seem to complicated to read through in their original form. This book gives you the core of the stories, so that later on , one could then read the original stories by the Bard of Avon. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
My copy has been a family treasure, thus read aloud over and over. This is an excelent book to read aloud with families and children. The many small illustrations aid the interest of the young reader and listener. E. Nesbit creates an excellent transition between today's spoken English and the language you will hear in Shakespeare's plays.

See for Yourself...
This book is good for historical value and amusement, but if seeing a Timon of Athens who looks like he waltzed out of a fairy story is bothersome to you, don't buy it. E. Nesbit is firmly of the "Shakespeare is the greatest moralist since Jesus Christ" school, and the plots have been tailored to fit this characterization. The tales have so little to do with actual Shakespeare that your own memorial reconstructions would be more accurate and entertaining. But you can check it out for yourself at .

Great Book
I think that this is a great book to help children and anyone else to understand Shakespeare. It is written in clear easy to understand text and is a great way to get the basic story line of Shakespeare's most poupular plays. I do have one complaint and that is the publisher's spelled E. Nesbit's name wrong they spelled it Nesbitt when it is really Nesbit. It is a good thing E. Nesbit isn't around anymore because I don't think she would appriciate it, I know I wouldn't.

Shakespeare for Children
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children provides a rich introduction to 20 plays of the Bard. The preface states: "But Shakespeare wrote for grown-up people... Hence this volume. To reproduce the entertaining stories contained in the plays of Shakespeare, in a form so simple that children can understand and enjoy them, was the object had in view by the author..."

E. Nesbitt, author of Five Children and It, does just that. Most of these retellings are 10 to 15 pages long. Read one of Nesbitt's beautiful stories before attending a performance of a play or before participating in a reader's theatre.

The last chapter in this book is a collection of quotations from Shakespeare. This provides fodder for recitations and/or copy work. ... Read more

Book Description

When four siblings journey to the seashore for a holiday, one of them unwittingly summons the sister of a mermaid who is captured by a circus, and the children set out to save the imprisoned being. After a daring midnight rescue, the children's reward is an incredible journey beneath the waves and into the hidden kingdom of the mermaids. But they soon find themselves in a race against time as they struggle to prevent a war and save their new underwater companions! Here is a triumphant tale by one of the finest storytellers to ever write for children, and a pioneer of fantasy literature for this age group. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent, but want more details.
This is a great book for any young reader, especially those interested in fantasy and mythology, although some parts are much different than the "tradional" view of merfolk in general (such as removable tails), but the story was good. What I noticed first was the ommission of various details, such as how they suddenly learn of the mermaid's name or leaving out details in the battles towards the end. I did find, however, that the narrator does a good job of telling the tale, like a mother would tell it to her daughter. All in all, a good story with a little action and lots of magical adventure.

One of her best; especially good for well-read bookish types
I love all of E. Nesbit's books; they are some of my dearest childhood favorites. I also really like the Enchanted Castle, The Magic City, and The Story of the Amulet. Wet Magic is more poetic and literate; there seems to be more visual beauty, and I love the scene where the book characters are literally coaxed out of all their books to help with the battle. ... Read more

Book Description

In her touching introduction to this collection, Britain's beloved children's author E. Nesbit shares with us her very personal inspiration for The Children's Shakespeare. As a writer, she understood that the stories are the least part of Shakespeare, but as a mother she also understood the need for simplicity. Her daughters were far too young to handle such complex language, yet certainly they must be capable of appreciating, indeed enjoying, the stories hidden within.

Envisioning this simplified introduction to works such as The Winter's Tale, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Taming of the Shrew-eleven plays in all-E. Nesbit set out to make them more accessible to young readers without sacrificing any essential elements. For if the stories were stripped of their wit and humor, of their emotion, the children would be no more entertained by them than by the indecipherable originals.

In the end, under E. Nesbit's gifted pen, these stories emerged with all the charm and grace of the very best fairy tales. Written in thoroughly modern English and each no more than ten pages in length, the eleven plays featured in this volume afford children the opportunity to discover for themselves the magic of Shakespeare. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Fantastic introduction to Shakespeare for younger children
I read and reread this book as a youth. The stories read much like classic fairy tales with tragedy, irony, and moral lessons. The writing is very accessible and encouraged me to seek out the full length "stories" in their original (play script) form once I was old enough (6th/7th grade) to really read them.

For a child who has a love of literature, these retellings of the great plays may start a life-long interest in Shakespeare's art (as they did for me).

Lorenzo Schiavo and Felipe Gravier
Romeo and Juliet

Felipe Gravier and Lorenzo Schiavo review:

We think that Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two star-crossed lovers whose families are in a terrible fight which prevents them from coming together. How far the couple will go to be together becomes the focus of the story. Of his richest poetry. The opening and closing choruses are some of his most outstanding work. Romeo's It is a brilliant love story but not much more. It still possesses however some wooing of Juliet is fabulously written. The Friar gets the best lines. Mercutio is one the best friends of Romeo. It is not as good as Shakespeare has written but it's still a fabulous book and up there with his best work. One part of the play we didn't like was that for the tow families get arrange there two kids had to die.
The English language wasn't finally finished so Shakespeare had the liberty to create words and play with the language, as he liked. That's why It was so difficult to understand what each character wanted to express so the teacher had to explain us each of that words and teach us all the words in that age and told us which were the words in the English of today.

Interesting Storys
This book provides lots of Shakespeare's Storys like "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and "Hamlet" with a children's fairy tale twist. The storys are the same as Shakespeare's, but easier for children to understand. My favorite story was Hamlet because I had just seen the play. A while after we read Children's Shakespeare and it helped me to understand Hamlet better.

Shakespeare is for children too!
Shakespeare is for kids and adults in E. Nesbit's creative mind. I always liked fairy tales, but I couldn't read Shakespeare very well. In Children's Shakespeare E. Nesbit turned his work into fairy tales without changing the story and morals. This book is not much like Nesbit's other books because it was written by Shakespeare, but I bet there are some simularities.

This book was a overall well writen book and I beleive E. Nesbit put a lot of hard work into her books in her life-time. I'm sure if she were alive now she would still be writing good books to this day.

A Fantastic find of understandable Shakespeare for all.
Beautifully read with passion. The stories come alive with the terrific narration and emotion. The backround music adds a special quality, and flows effortlessly with the stories. For those who never thought they could understand or appreciate The Bard don't miss out on this. This Shakespeare is easy to comprehend. It also includes many expected quotes even though it is abridged. If you want your children to be "culture literate", this is a must for any collection. ... Read more