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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
It’s official. Nesbit just isn’t for me. The Railroad Children was so boring I couldn’t finish it. This one was not quite as boring, but it was hard to slog through. Part of the issue is the wordiness & how the children use slang common to their era which is hard to decipher nowadays. I mostly read classics, so that isn’t usually an issue for me, but this seemed excessive. There’s also a fairly racist chapter where the children wish “red-skinned Indians” their size will come fight them.
The one redeeming chapter was the one where the Lamb is turned into a grown up. My daughter & I laughed a lot during that one. If only the rest of the book could’ve been that good!
The one redeeming chapter was the one where the Lamb is turned into a grown up. My daughter & I laughed a lot during that one. If only the rest of the book could’ve been that good!
Holds it own despite being over a century old. Satisfyingly nostalgic after an inital suspension of disbelief. Manages to make even the modern adult reader feel like a refugee from a childhood filled with magic.
Full review at: http://theamateurcynic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/five-children-and-it-phoenix-and-carpet.html
Full review at: http://theamateurcynic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/five-children-and-it-phoenix-and-carpet.html
Leuk verhaal, maar erg gedateerd. De vertaling neemt de ouderwetse taal over, waardoor het erg lastig te begrijpen is.
When I was little, I stumbled across the BBC movie based on this book. It wasn't something that was on all the time, so I caught it two or three times in my life and the Psammead just floated around in the miasma of my childhood subconscious. I recently found out that this was a book and I loved every minute I spent reading it. The book is so tongue in cheek and so much fun. I feel like it would be a good read-aloud book, but some of the sentences are quite long and I don't know how much a child would understand of the slang used in this book. And for any concerned parents out there, the edition I read contains the word "slut" in it in the very last chapter, otherwise this book is good, clean fun. The book begins with four children stumbling upon a sand fairy who has the ability to grant wishes. So the children get one wish a day and, for the most part, each chapter focuses on one of their wishes. Of course, every time the children wish for something their wish never comes off as expected. Yet, I don't think the story is cautioning to be careful what you wish for, but rather to make the best of what you wish for. The kids are all good sports and I just love the grumpy old Psammead. I only wish I had read this when I was a kid.
Ironically for what I think this novel was trying to do, I didn't like this - I found Nesbit almost too on the nose for her amused, children-trying-to-use-magic-and-failing-as-there's-always-a-catch voice and conceit. Give me The Railway Children any day for its depiction of childish anxiety and sorrow. This was didactic even as it tried (and to many readers, succeeded) to be funny.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Five siblings find a Psammead, a sand fairy, who agrees to grant them one wish every day. They wish for money, beauty, wings, and all manner of foolish things, and every wish somehow goes terribly wrong as the consequences catch up with them.
I always love this book every time I reread it! It's so whimsical and charming. I just love the setting and the time period in the early 1900s.
The siblings are silly and cross and affectionate. They tease each other and fight and take care of each other. In other words, they are just like regular siblings.
The magic is beautiful and imaginative and weird! It's so funny and interesting to read about all the trouble they get into and how they manage to get themselves out of it and find their way home again at the end of the day.
I also love the sequel, [b:The Phoenix and the Carpet|97090|The Phoenix and the Carpet (Five Children #2)|E. Nesbit|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883589l/97090._SY75_.jpg|1115313]. Edith Nesbit just has such a delightful writing style that never gets old!
I always love this book every time I reread it! It's so whimsical and charming. I just love the setting and the time period in the early 1900s.
The siblings are silly and cross and affectionate. They tease each other and fight and take care of each other. In other words, they are just like regular siblings.
The magic is beautiful and imaginative and weird! It's so funny and interesting to read about all the trouble they get into and how they manage to get themselves out of it and find their way home again at the end of the day.
I also love the sequel, [b:The Phoenix and the Carpet|97090|The Phoenix and the Carpet (Five Children #2)|E. Nesbit|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883589l/97090._SY75_.jpg|1115313]. Edith Nesbit just has such a delightful writing style that never gets old!
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No