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Overview
Includes character guide, quiz, author info, historical background, fun activities, and glossary
Don't you know a sand-fairy when you see one?
I dare say you have often thought about what you would do if you were granted three wishes. The five children—Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother—had often talked about it but when they are faced with the grumpy sand-fairy they find it difficult to make up their minds. And that is just the beginning of their dilemmas. As they discover, there is nothing quite like a wish for getting you into terrible trouble.
When four brothers and sisters discover a Psammead, or sand-fairy, in the gravel pit near the country house where they are staying, they have no way of knowing all the adventures its wish-granting will bring them.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"I love E. Nesbit—I think she is great and I identify with the way that she writes. Her children are very real children and she was quite a groundbreaker in her day." —J. K. Rowling"She speaks to the reader, and it's almost as if though you could hear her voice." —Quentin Blake
Children's Literature -
Their first time in the country is filled with magical escapades for five children in this classic tale of adventure. Cyril, Athena, Robert, Jane, and baby brother, Lamb, are exploring the land around the house their parents have rented for the summer when they find the sandpit. They decide to dig a hole straight through to Australia. Their plan is interrupted when Athena discovers a magical creature hiding in the sand. It is a Psammead, and it can grant wishes. In fact, it must grant wishes, but it is a crabby creature and limits itself to one each day. Worse, none of the wishes seem to turn out right. When the children want to be beautiful, they are ... but their maid can't recognize them and refuses to feed them lunch. When the children want to be rich, they are ... but they can't spend the outdated coins. And so it goes. Luckily for the children, the Psammead's magic wears off at sunset. Even the worst results can be borne out until sunset ... or can they? Paul O. Zelinsky's delicate watercolor plates are a good match for E. Nesbit's humorous story about magic in the real world. An Afterward by Peter Glassman explains the influence this work had on subsequent children's literature. 1999, Books of Wonder/William Morrow, Ages 9 to 12, $32.95, $22.00 and $4.99. Reviewer: Heidi GreenChildren's Literature
This classic early 20th century British chapter book portrays the innocence of childhood when five children visit their new house in the country. Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and their baby brother who they lovingly call "Lamb" are ready to explore their new surroundings while their mum and dad are off on their own duties. They cannot wait to visit the nearby quarry where they very accidentally wake, from a many-years sleep, a peculiar looking and wish-granting sand fairy also known as a Psammead. The Psammead is a furry creature with a spider-like body, bat's ears and snail-like eyes. He has been asleep for thousands of years and he is not very pleased that he has been awakened. The children's first wish is to be beautiful, but when they arrive home looking very different, their nursemaid chases them outside as if they are stray urchins. The children know they can go to the Sammyad (their pet name for the creature) to remove the wish. They then wish to be rich and, of course, unintended consequences occur and bring the children back, rethinking their wishes. They enjoy many adventures and young readers will enjoy their wishes and the strange creature that grants them. Finally, a wish gone bad places the children in the position of letting an innocent man be charged with a crime or losing all the wishes granted by their furry "friend." This book is a classic that should be on all library shelves. 2004, HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 8 up.—Sue Reichard