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A review by katykelly
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
5.0
Classic wishing story (with all the perils) that doesn't feel out-of-touch.
One of my strongest memories of BBC programming in my childhood is the wonderful Five Children and It adaptation with the puppet psammead blowing wishing for the Victorian children every day. I then read the book, and after that, other classics as well. A 'gateway' TV programme, if you will.
Now my eldest is 9, I suggested reading this with him. Following along with my copy, we listened to an audio version on schools runs and at bedtimes for a few weeks. I wasn't sure if he'd find the language and context too dull/complex to follow or enjoy, but that wasn't the case.
Though there are some obvious differences in the treatment of the genders, strange exclamations, phrases and nicknames, and society itself is poles apart from those my son would recognise (baker's boy! horse and cart! fairs with freaks!) - he listened along and seemed entertained by the stories.
The plot follows the day to day lives of four children (and their baby brother) when they spend their summer in a new house near a pit and discover a sand fairy living there - a psammead - who can grant them a wish every day. Now what would YOU wish for if you had this chance? Probably a few in common with Althea, Cyril, Jane and Robert: wishing for wings, money, for their baby brother to grow up a bit. But they find that their wishes often go a little bit awry, there are always consequences, usually unforeseen.
The Psammead is a fantastically grumpy creation, always moaning about his good old days among the cavemen and dinosaurs. The children are an interesting crew, siblings who argue but who mostly get on well, but who often look after a baby by themselves all day, and are totally obsessed with not missing their mealtimes.
It's a story I remembered fairly well, certainly all the things that went wrong with the wishes. The old-fashioned language wasn't as challenging as I had remembered, despite the differences any modern reader would notice. It made a fairly easy listen. I'm hoping to re-watch the TV series at some point soon as well. Nesbit wrote several other of my favourites as well, and I hope we can give those a try (Treasure Seekers, Little Lord Fauntleroy).
For ages 8-12.
One of my strongest memories of BBC programming in my childhood is the wonderful Five Children and It adaptation with the puppet psammead blowing wishing for the Victorian children every day. I then read the book, and after that, other classics as well. A 'gateway' TV programme, if you will.
Now my eldest is 9, I suggested reading this with him. Following along with my copy, we listened to an audio version on schools runs and at bedtimes for a few weeks. I wasn't sure if he'd find the language and context too dull/complex to follow or enjoy, but that wasn't the case.
Though there are some obvious differences in the treatment of the genders, strange exclamations, phrases and nicknames, and society itself is poles apart from those my son would recognise (baker's boy! horse and cart! fairs with freaks!) - he listened along and seemed entertained by the stories.
The plot follows the day to day lives of four children (and their baby brother) when they spend their summer in a new house near a pit and discover a sand fairy living there - a psammead - who can grant them a wish every day. Now what would YOU wish for if you had this chance? Probably a few in common with Althea, Cyril, Jane and Robert: wishing for wings, money, for their baby brother to grow up a bit. But they find that their wishes often go a little bit awry, there are always consequences, usually unforeseen.
The Psammead is a fantastically grumpy creation, always moaning about his good old days among the cavemen and dinosaurs. The children are an interesting crew, siblings who argue but who mostly get on well, but who often look after a baby by themselves all day, and are totally obsessed with not missing their mealtimes.
It's a story I remembered fairly well, certainly all the things that went wrong with the wishes. The old-fashioned language wasn't as challenging as I had remembered, despite the differences any modern reader would notice. It made a fairly easy listen. I'm hoping to re-watch the TV series at some point soon as well. Nesbit wrote several other of my favourites as well, and I hope we can give those a try (Treasure Seekers, Little Lord Fauntleroy).
For ages 8-12.