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![Five Children and It: E. Nesbit (Classics, Literature) [Annotated] by E. Nesbit](https://cdn.thestorygraph.com/97aam85yqpbfmzo3v04k0l2nim55)
3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
While a charming book that wonderfully uses the trickster wish-granter trope, especially one as compelling and unique as the Psammead, I personally cannot look past the sexist, racist, and classist elements that pop up throughout the text, especially the racial stereotypes and slurs used to depict and describe groups of Romani and Indigenous peoples. I also found that the children had very little agency in the book past asking for wishes, after which things just sort of happened to them, and they were absolved of all consequences once the wish disappeared at sunset. This is, of course, with the exception of the last wish, in which Anthea actually has to work with the Psammead to undo the mess they had caused earlier. I did enjoy the lore of the sand fairies that Nesbit builds throughout the text and the children's interactions with the Psammead, however, I would caution against reading this with children unless both you and they are ready to have in-depth discussions about the problems present in the text.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Classic. After all these years, it still made me laugh.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Delightful as always. Read as a family for family book club with ages 4-62. All enjoyed although the chamber on Native Americans did give us pause as we considered the best way to approach the dated treatment of the stereotypes etc.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book became tiresome rather quickly for me. Each episode of the children's wishing is formulaic: kids wish for something, it doesn't turn out like they imagined it would, a lesson is learned. Repeat ad infinitum. Toss in some casual racism for variety. I am aware the book was written in 1902 and is reflective of the prevailing attitudes of the time period. I am also aware that it is a children's classic and important to the development of early children's literature. However, I can't imagine recommending this book today. Nor do I see ever reading it again. On the plus side, the Psammead (or sand-fairy) was quite the original wishing medium, both in appearance and behavior. Not your typical genie or traditional fairy in a fairy-story, neither all evil or good, mostly concerned with himself and his own welfare, but not truly malicious.
There is not a child or an adult who has at some time in their life not wished for something to happen. Now a wish might take shapes and forms from the most frivolous and superficial to things that are better left unsaid. If you are a religious person you send the wish up to the heavens to God and if you are not then you simply mutter ”I wish... Now imagine if there really was someone who could grant your wishes, what would you get done through this entity ? There were a lot of fanciful notions that I had in my mind at the beginning of this story which made amusing observations at just such a ‘what-if’ scenario but the quandaries that the group of children in this story find themselves in was enough to disillusion me.
The plot construction is along the lines of a standard fairy tale – five children in a rural English village come across an ancient creature called a Psammead or a sand fairy in an abandoned quarry. Now the Psammead is quite a curmudgeon to deal with but has the amazing ability to grant one’s wishes. So begins a series of adventures in which the children find themselves while their wishes get fulfilled. While on the surface the story resembles a straight fairy tale, I felt that it teaches more subtle things. Primary among them was that a world in which all of one’s wishes came true wouldn’t be all that fun to live in. To add on to this is the realization that the way the mechanisms of the world works are rather intricate and complex and there is always a balance struck between granting one’s wishes and the limitations of it. The children who are a little too young to be bothered with such fancy ideas do however learn all of this through simple life lessons. It is a delightful story filled with lively characters and Edith Nesbit is a charmer when it comes to writing.
My only contention with the tale was the rather abrupt ending and while the author does leave the gates open for a potential sequel, it felt like a let-down after all the wonderful times together.
For a brief while it was like reversing gears and cruising through childhood. A beautiful little book !
The plot construction is along the lines of a standard fairy tale – five children in a rural English village come across an ancient creature called a Psammead or a sand fairy in an abandoned quarry. Now the Psammead is quite a curmudgeon to deal with but has the amazing ability to grant one’s wishes. So begins a series of adventures in which the children find themselves while their wishes get fulfilled. While on the surface the story resembles a straight fairy tale, I felt that it teaches more subtle things. Primary among them was that a world in which all of one’s wishes came true wouldn’t be all that fun to live in. To add on to this is the realization that the way the mechanisms of the world works are rather intricate and complex and there is always a balance struck between granting one’s wishes and the limitations of it. The children who are a little too young to be bothered with such fancy ideas do however learn all of this through simple life lessons. It is a delightful story filled with lively characters and Edith Nesbit is a charmer when it comes to writing.
My only contention with the tale was the rather abrupt ending and while the author does leave the gates open for a potential sequel, it felt like a let-down after all the wonderful times together.
For a brief while it was like reversing gears and cruising through childhood. A beautiful little book !
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No