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leskit's review against another edition
4.0
I read this aloud to a 5th grade class and they enjoyed it very much. I was a little surprised for the enthusiasm for the book. I mean, I thought they would like it, but I was surprised at how much. It can be challenging to read such an old book to children. Lanaguage structure can be problematic, but they enjoyed it - which was great! There were a few things I explained and we talked about. There's a mention of Bedlam (the psychiatric hospital) and I was surprised and pleased that one girl knew all about it. We had a discussion on advances in caring for the mentally ill. There was one spot nearly at the end of the book that the housekeeper calls a maid a slut and I had to creatively deal with that. I don't think slut was meant in the same way we mean it now. I read a lot of older books to kids and have had to improvise or discuss things quite a few times. I do think kids like to hear about how children entertained themselves "long ago." Anyway, it was a fun read aloud and also pleased the kids enjoyed it so much.
sarahbowling6608's review against another edition
2.0
I remember really liking The Railway Children so I was excited to read something else by Nesbit. I found the children in this book very petulant and whiny. I also thought they spoke very unkindly to each other. I will note that I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator made them sound very whiny so maybe I wouldn't have been so bothered by it had I read it with the voices in my head. I did enjoy the storyline of natural consequences for hasty or thoughtless wishes, I just wish (see what I did there lol) that the children weren't so nasty to each other.
CC: magic, very unsupervised children, unkindness, fighting, racist/stereotypical portrayal of "gypsies" and "red Indians"
CC: magic, very unsupervised children, unkindness, fighting, racist/stereotypical portrayal of "gypsies" and "red Indians"
sanjastajdohar's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Well, this was an interesting experience. On the one hand, it was imaginative, fun and different, read superbly and witty on numerous occasions. On the other hand, some things didn't age well (the Indians and Gypsy stories among others). Seems to me a bit too overtly instructive at times. But, all in all, it is a classic for a reason and it was fun following the children's mishaps.
smitchy's review against another edition
3.0
I can see why this one has been loved for so many years - it has a very Enid Blyton-like feel with the adventures of five siblings and the grumpy Sand-fairy.
This reminded me a bit of the The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs, where wishes are granted but with deadly consequences. Five Children and It, of course,is written with a child audience in mind - the wishes the children are granted always have contrary consequences but nothing that can't be fixed by sundown. The wishes may be the beginning of their problems but these kids love to create a bit of chaos too - stealing lunch from the Vicar, tricking gypsies and carnival folk, causing chaos for their poor maid / nanny. The kid's lack of perfection makes them that much more likeable, especially to the children reading the book. I you have finished The Magic Faraway Tree then Five Children and It should be next on your reading list.
This reminded me a bit of the The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs, where wishes are granted but with deadly consequences. Five Children and It, of course,is written with a child audience in mind - the wishes the children are granted always have contrary consequences but nothing that can't be fixed by sundown. The wishes may be the beginning of their problems but these kids love to create a bit of chaos too - stealing lunch from the Vicar, tricking gypsies and carnival folk, causing chaos for their poor maid / nanny. The kid's lack of perfection makes them that much more likeable, especially to the children reading the book. I you have finished The Magic Faraway Tree then Five Children and It should be next on your reading list.
roseannmvp's review against another edition
5.0
What a lovely moral tale of wishes gone awry and the five children who playfully, childishly suffer through them. A little dated, but a sweet tale still worth reading!
readsewknit's review against another edition
3.0
Our campus library has a beyond generous lending policy for faculty and staff; when it was clear in March of 2020 that the world was about to look very different soon, the last couple days on campus I made trips to the campus library to stock up on books, knowing that I wouldn't have to return them for a year. The first day I focused on my youngest daughter, especially, as she was just at the cusp of having reading click for her in kindergarten and I didn't want to lose those emerging skills, and our early readers are somewhat limited at home. I went into the library room primarily set aside for student teachers and packed full a reusable shopping tote with dozens of suitable titles. (That task accomplished, the second day I reserved for gathering titles I myself aspired to read.)
Edith Nesbit was not on my radar when I was growing up, but I've since heard a couple of her books recommended. When I spotted Five Children and It in the children's section, I added it to my pile. It was a hefty illustrated version that I hoped we might get to read aloud. I didn't start it until this fall, and it got a long break over Christmas when we turned our attention to our advent tradition, but we recently finished it.
In it, five siblings are at a vacation home, somewhat left to their own devices while their mother tends a sick relative and their father is working. They stumble upon a magical creature who agrees to grant them one wish a day (the effects of which disappear at sunset), and thus we have our framework.
As one might imagine, the children don't have the sense to think through the consequences of their wishes, so they begin the day with grand ideas for what their day will hold and often find themselves hoping to be rid of their wish because of the possible dangers and trials it brought about.
The vocabulary is rich with archaic or unfamiliar words that were at times challenging for the girls to make sense of; I found myself swapping out words on occasion to keep the flow of the story going. Not surprisingly, over the years sensibilities have changed, and I was uncomfortable enough with the second-to-last chapter I ended up skipping it during our read-aloud (it was called "Scalped!" and as I started, I feared it would be full of untrue stereotypes and behaviors, so I did a cursory skim to ensure we weren't missing any plot points and skipped to the final chapter, later going back to read it for myself).
I don't know that it's a must-read as far as canonical children's literature is concerned, but both girls did enjoy hearing about their antics and were invested in the children's success or failure for each chapter (more so the ten-year-old, less so the six-year-old).
Edith Nesbit was not on my radar when I was growing up, but I've since heard a couple of her books recommended. When I spotted Five Children and It in the children's section, I added it to my pile. It was a hefty illustrated version that I hoped we might get to read aloud. I didn't start it until this fall, and it got a long break over Christmas when we turned our attention to our advent tradition, but we recently finished it.
In it, five siblings are at a vacation home, somewhat left to their own devices while their mother tends a sick relative and their father is working. They stumble upon a magical creature who agrees to grant them one wish a day (the effects of which disappear at sunset), and thus we have our framework.
As one might imagine, the children don't have the sense to think through the consequences of their wishes, so they begin the day with grand ideas for what their day will hold and often find themselves hoping to be rid of their wish because of the possible dangers and trials it brought about.
The vocabulary is rich with archaic or unfamiliar words that were at times challenging for the girls to make sense of; I found myself swapping out words on occasion to keep the flow of the story going. Not surprisingly, over the years sensibilities have changed, and I was uncomfortable enough with the second-to-last chapter I ended up skipping it during our read-aloud (it was called "Scalped!" and as I started, I feared it would be full of untrue stereotypes and behaviors, so I did a cursory skim to ensure we weren't missing any plot points and skipped to the final chapter, later going back to read it for myself).
I don't know that it's a must-read as far as canonical children's literature is concerned, but both girls did enjoy hearing about their antics and were invested in the children's success or failure for each chapter (more so the ten-year-old, less so the six-year-old).
nearly_empty_nesting's review against another edition
4.0
Wish granting stories are one of my favorites and this did not disappoint. A delightful tale I never heard of before seeing it in the Hoopla bonus borrow titles, and I’m so glad I gave it a listen.
forever_day's review against another edition
2.0
I'll prelude this review by saying that books whose main focus are wishes are usually a miss for me, and that is simply because the main plot points of those books seem to be the making of a dubious wish and then learning the lesson that it was a Bad Idea.
Unfortunately, because I am very fond of this writing style and E Nesbit, this book was much of the same... over and over again. They'd try to learn their lesson and then something would go wrong, which was a little frustrating to read and I've never particularly enjoyed the feeling that I could've done better than the characters.
I liked the Psammead, I found his character v funny (in a way I definitely wouldn't have appreciated as a child) and the characters of the other children were also v sweet, but I just couldn't gel with the plot.
Unfortunately, because I am very fond of this writing style and E Nesbit, this book was much of the same... over and over again. They'd try to learn their lesson and then something would go wrong, which was a little frustrating to read and I've never particularly enjoyed the feeling that I could've done better than the characters.
I liked the Psammead, I found his character v funny (in a way I definitely wouldn't have appreciated as a child) and the characters of the other children were also v sweet, but I just couldn't gel with the plot.
tatinha's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cultural appropriation
Minor: Racism, Bullying, and Sexism