A grumpy sand fairy and five children's wishes
A review of Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
“For really there is nothing like wings for getting you into trouble. But, on the other hand, if you are in trouble, there is nothing like wings for getting you out of it.”
The ever going fantasy project has been a bit more on my mind lately, as I found myself finding back to a reading flow that has been better than at the start of the year. There has been a bit more fantasy reads going on, and even when I DNF’ed Dragonflight, I am still in the mood for more books from this list.
One that I was a bit unsure of was Five Children and It by E. Nesbit. Children’s classics can be a hit and miss, but even then I have found a few that I have actually enjoyed a lot. Where the Mountains Meet the Moon by Grace Lin is still one of my favourites from this list. On the other hand, I was not too fond of Mary Poppins - when the illusion broke and I found myself missing the Disney edition of her.
Nevertheless, it was time to jump back into the game and give this little book a chance!
The five children find a cantankerous sand fairy, a psammead, in a gravel pit. Every day 'It' will grant each of them a wish that lasts until sunset, often with disastrous consequences.
Never out of print since 1902. The Introduction to this edition examines Nesbit's life and her reading, showing the change in children's literature from Victorian times.
Children’s classics are always tricky for me to rate, especially the ones I never read as a child. The ones I have that nostalgic feeling or attachment with are somewhat easier to rate, because I remember the feeling, the excitement or the boredom and it is a quick study to figure out what I think of it now as an adult.
Five Children and It was a book I had never heard of before I saw the list - but I wanted nevertheless to give it a chance. For most children books I have decided to go with the audiobook edition and this one was no exception - Lynda Bellingham did a wonderful job on this little book. She really captured the vibe that it needed and made Nesbit’s flow even better when acting the scenes out.
Finding a sand fairy is a clever way to get the story going - finding out it grants wishes is something that I do believe most children would be very excited about. At least I would’ve been so excited about that fact. A new wish every day? Heck yeah!
What I found entertaining was how Nesbit really made the wishes of the children feel like they actually were made by young children. The complete lack of understanding the consequences of their actions, the short sighted wishes, spending the rest of the day dealing with their «foolish» wish and then returning the next day to make a similar wish - but this time (!) they learned from the previous day. It all summed up young children’s point of view perfectly! The fact that the fairy seemed to grow more and more impatient (just like an adult would) with every visit made it even more comical.
In the end, I felt for the poor guy.
It made me smile quite a lot throughout the story. I found Nesbit to be a wonderful writer, keeping the flow, a nice balance between the comical and seriousness, making sure the children behave and acted like their age was perfection. It is an old fashioned tale, a product of its time (1902) as most of these classics are - but I did find it does hold up better than expected.
Comparing it to Mary Poppins, which I only actually liked because Olivia Colman was narrating it, Five Children and It is a much better story! I do wish I had read it as a child - because I am pretty sure I would have liked it. An easy going story, with a bit of magic and a point of view from a child - it would have been a perfect read.
Highly recommended!
Until next time,
happy reading ✨