6 h 20 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 20 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your wishes come true, but leave you with problems you never think to wish away?
Robert, Anthea, Cyril, Jane, and their baby brother, the Lamb, leave London for the countryside. While adults are busy elsewhere, the older children find a Psammead: an ancient, grumpy sand-fairy that grants wishes. Suddenly, getting what they want seems easy. Knowing what to ask for is another matter.
In E. Nesbit’s Five Children and It, beauty makes familiar faces unrecognisable, and wings bring the urgent question of where to land. Wishes usually wear off at sunset, but practical trouble arrives much sooner. The children quarrel, boast, and blame one another as their grand ideas turn into awkward adventures.
What you’ll discover
- A reluctant wish granter Meet a touchy sand-fairy with little interest in becoming anyone’s obedient servant.
- Beauty with a catch Discover how a wish for beautiful faces makes being recognised unexpectedly difficult.
- Wings and worries Enjoy the delight of flight, then face the practical problem of coming down.
- Siblings who feel familiar Follow children who argue, act too quickly, and help untangle the trouble they create.
- Care amid the chaos Watch Anthea bring practical sense to adventures, especially when the Lamb needs her.
Who will love it
For readers who love mischievous siblings, grumpy magical creatures, and adventures where practical problems matter as much as enchantment.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
Who’s who
- The PsammeadAn ancient, irritable sand-fairy grants wishes that usually wear off at sunset.
- CyrilThe eldest sibling often takes the lead in plans that the others help carry out.
- AntheaAnthea brings care and practical sense to the children's adventures, especially where their baby brother is concerned.
- Robert and JaneRobert and Jane join the arguments, wishes, and efforts to escape the trouble their magic creates.
- The LambThe youngest sibling is a baby whose family nickname is the Lamb.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 20 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 2 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Cinque bambini e It in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Cinque bambini e It
by E. Nesbit · 1902
Five siblings find a grumpy sand-fairy whose wishes turn a country holiday into a scramble to escape magical trouble.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit is a children's fantasy about five siblings who discover a grumpy sand-fairy that grants wishes, usually with awkward consequences.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Robert, Anthea, Cyril, Jane, and their baby brother, known as the Lamb, leave London for a stay in the countryside. With space to roam and adults occupied elsewhere, the older children set out to enjoy themselves. Digging in a gravel pit, they uncover something much stranger than buried treasure: a small, hairy creature with eyes on stalks and a very strong opinion of its own importance.
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What is Five Children and It about?
Five Children and It follows five siblings who find a wish-granting sand-fairy during a country holiday. Their wishes bring beauty, riches, flight, and other extraordinary experiences, but each creates problems they never thought to consider.
What is the It in Five Children and It?
The It is a Psammead, an ancient sand-fairy the children dig up in a gravel pit. It has a hairy body and eyes on stalks. It grants wishes reluctantly, and its magic generally lasts only until sunset.
Who are the five children?
The five siblings are Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother, nicknamed the Lamb. The four older children make most of the plans and wishes, while the Lamb needs looking after and sometimes becomes part of their magical troubles.
The author
E. Nesbit
1858–1924 · English children's writer and poet
Edith Nesbit (1858–1924) was an English author and poet who published as E. Nesbit. She was born in London and later lived in Kent. Her children’s books include The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1899), Five Children and It (1902), The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904), and The Railway Children (1906).
More by E. Nesbit
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