Five Children

Five Children and It is a delightful children's story for young readers or as a read aloud. The story begins when a group of siblings find a sand fairy who can grant wishes that last only one day. Their wishes all go comically wrong in this fun adventure story for children.

While playing in a gravel pit, five siblings-Robert, Anthea, Cyril, Jane and baby Lamb-unearth Psammead, a sand-fairy who has the ability to grant wishes. Unfortunately, the Psammead has been buried so long that his magic has grown rusty, and the children's wishes go humorously awry. When the children wish to be beautiful, their servants think them strangers and throw them out onto the street. When they wish for jewelry for their mother, all the jewelry in Kent appears in their house. The children must ask the Psammead to grant one final wish to set things straight, but in doing so, they may never see their new friend again. The children and the Psammead appear again in E. Nesbit's The Phoenix and the Carpet and The Story of the Amulet. Five Children and It was adapted for film in 2004 starring Freddie Highmore as Jack, and was also adapted as a comic strip by Henry Seabright.

The last thing Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother expect to find while digging in the sand is a Psammead-an ancient Sand-fairy! Having a Sand-fairy for a pet means having one wish granted each day. But the fivesome doesn't realize all of the trouble that wishes can cause.

After an accidental fire, a new carpet is placed in the play room to replace the one that was destroyed. While playing, the children find an egg in the carpet. The egg hatches into a talking phoenix that explains that the carpet is magical, and will grant the children three wishes per day. Through these wishes, the children have many magical adventures. In this book, Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and the Lamb continue their trilogy of adventures.

While the children's mother and father are out of the country the children are staying with the "old nurse" in her boarding house. There is only one other boarder, an old Egyptologist, whom the children soon befriend. They learn of an amulet that has the ability to grant their hearts desire, and soon buy it. After making the purchase, they learn that it is the only surviving half of the amulet. Though the half of the amulet cannot grant their hearts desire, it can serve as a magic portal permitting time travel. In this book, the five children, Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and the Lamb conclude their trilogy of adventures.

he children from E. Nesbit's novel, Five Children and It, are back and they found the magical Psammead again. Even though the Psammead can't grant their wishes, he encourages them to buy an amulet with magical powers. When they make a simple wish to be reunited with their parents, they end up on a journey through time and space in this fun and fantastical story.