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soniapage's review against another edition
This is definitely a children's book. I read half of it, skimmed the next hundred pages, then gave up. Small children would probably like it, but too long for me.
vaderbird's review
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
evamadera1's review
4.0
I rather enjoyed this book, although at first I wondered how a "children's" book could be so long. Turns out that it's actually two stories. These stories are quite readable and engaging.
These two stories are different yet at the same time by the time one reaches the end of the second story, the "ring" becomes very much like the "Samayyad."The four siblings of the first story also become very much like the three siblings and one friend of the second story. (Perhaps I should state that the other way round.)
That being said, I enjoyed the idea that there's real magic in the world visible to some but not to others while at the same time having very real consequences. Those consequences are much more realistic and much less sugar-coated than one would find in a similar story written in more recent times.
I also think that I liked these two stories because of the many similarities to the Chronicles of Narnia, especially "The Magician's Nephew."
I definitely recommend this book.
These two stories are different yet at the same time by the time one reaches the end of the second story, the "ring" becomes very much like the "Samayyad."The four siblings of the first story also become very much like the three siblings and one friend of the second story. (Perhaps I should state that the other way round.)
That being said, I enjoyed the idea that there's real magic in the world visible to some but not to others while at the same time having very real consequences. Those consequences are much more realistic and much less sugar-coated than one would find in a similar story written in more recent times.
I also think that I liked these two stories because of the many similarities to the Chronicles of Narnia, especially "The Magician's Nephew."
I definitely recommend this book.
lordofthemoon's review against another edition
2.0
The eponymous five children find a sand-fairy in a gravel pit that promises to give them wishes that last until sunset. Hilarity ensues as the wishes, predictably, go horribly wrong.
I dunno, this book didn't do an awful lot for me. The children were too prim and "good", the narrator's voice was annoying and the episodic nature of the book (each chapter is about one wish) just didn't work. I enjoyed it when I was younger but the adult me can't ignore all the little things that bug me.
It did, though, make me slightly nostalgic for the days when kids could carry penknives as a matter of course and not be thought of as criminals waiting to happen.
I dunno, this book didn't do an awful lot for me. The children were too prim and "good", the narrator's voice was annoying and the episodic nature of the book (each chapter is about one wish) just didn't work. I enjoyed it when I was younger but the adult me can't ignore all the little things that bug me.
It did, though, make me slightly nostalgic for the days when kids could carry penknives as a matter of course and not be thought of as criminals waiting to happen.
templecat2's review against another edition
I read this book on the recommendation of a relative after he loved Catherynne M. Valente's "The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland" and then pushed this book and its two sequels into my hands. It was pleasant enough and the writing was charming and the resemblance between the two books was noted. It's also racist as heck in the second to last chapter, and ultimately it's a book I appreciate more for inspiring other authors than it's own merits, due to having first read it as an adult.
alys's review against another edition
3.0
Oh, 1902, you gave us such lovely fantasies, and also such blatantly stereotypically racist depictions of non-English cultures.
The chapters with the gypsies and "red indians" whose only joy in life was to scalp everyone made me cringe.
Edward Eager said that E. Nesbit was a major influence on his writing, and I can absolutely see that reading this book. There is a similar straight-forwardness to the writing, the sense that a jolly, friendly narrator is telling you the story, and a shared sense of complacent acceptance for the strange things that happen. Although Edward Eager's characters - perhaps because they'd grown up on such stories themselves? - were much more clever in their dealings with magic. It was frustrating to me that the five children got into such scrapes with their wishes when really just asking the Psammead to not grant a wish unless a specific code word was used would have solved nearly all of their problems. Of course even their three most intentional wishes, the beauty, the money, and the wings, didn't go quite right, but the wing mishaps were sheer carelessness.
I was amused to note the number of times the children were put out because they missed their meals. Such a note of realism in a fantasy book, to be hungry and annoyed about it!
The chapters with the gypsies and "red indians" whose only joy in life was to scalp everyone made me cringe.
Edward Eager said that E. Nesbit was a major influence on his writing, and I can absolutely see that reading this book. There is a similar straight-forwardness to the writing, the sense that a jolly, friendly narrator is telling you the story, and a shared sense of complacent acceptance for the strange things that happen. Although Edward Eager's characters - perhaps because they'd grown up on such stories themselves? - were much more clever in their dealings with magic. It was frustrating to me that the five children got into such scrapes with their wishes when really just asking the Psammead to not grant a wish unless a specific code word was used would have solved nearly all of their problems. Of course even their three most intentional wishes, the beauty, the money, and the wings, didn't go quite right, but the wing mishaps were sheer carelessness.
I was amused to note the number of times the children were put out because they missed their meals. Such a note of realism in a fantasy book, to be hungry and annoyed about it!
apostrophen's review against another edition
3.0
This was freaking cute. Five children find a little sand-fairy in a nearby rock quarry when they're away at a summer house with their family. It can grant one wish a day, and no matter what the children seem to wish, it just doesn't turn out right. Being as beautiful as the day is long is great in theory, except no one believes that you are who you say you are, since you look so different. Having wings to fly with is nice, except you end up very hungry feeding all that movement, and stealing food to have enough energy to fly home is never a good plan. 'Be Careful What You Wish For' has been done delightfully well here, and paced perfectly at a chapter a night for children.
alittlestar's review against another edition
3.0
agak sedikit membosankan ya, tapi waktu patung - patung di kastil jadi hidup agak sedikit seru.
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