I didn't particularly enjoy this book, by the end I was finding it even more unbelievable and repetitious.
We meet 5 children, Robert, Anthea, Cyril, Jane and their baby brother nick named The Lamb, who are moving the a big white house in the country with their mother. Whilst out exploring one day they find a sand fairy in the gravel quarry, when they realise that the sand fairy grants wishes they think they are in for many happy adventures. However, not all wish are as good as they seem when they think of them and they get what they wish for.

Did not captivate as much as I hoped. Had the lion, witch and wardrobe vibe - perhaps I would enjoy a movie more.

How did I not find these when I was 8-9? I loved Edward Eager, and E. Nesbit was clearly a HUGE influence on his writing. The tone & the children are so similar. Also - 4 siblings in the early 1900's? Totally up my alley.

Sadly, reading it now kinda ruined the magic. I did like how pretty much every wish ended poorly and with the children going without supper. I would consider this a light summer read aloud book for the 6-8 yr old set.

I wasn't actually expecting to like this book as much as I did. I wrongly presumed, since it was published over a hundred years ago, that it would be stuffy and rigid, or worse quaint and cute. The name E. Nesbit conjures images of very neat children in starched pinnies and hokey 1960s Disney adaptations. Anyway, I was wrong.

Nesbit has a large, quick and playful wit that is riddled throughout the story, with many humorous asides to the audience that absolutely must have inspired many of the children's writers who came after her, right into the modern day. The children often also act surprisingly like you would expect real children to act, and not at all like you would expect little Edwardians to behave. Well, obviously they do a bit, but still, it's all very enjoyable.

The only particularly bum note is the Red Indian chapter, which can't help but feel racist today. However, in its defence, when the wishes come true it is as the children would imagine it rather than true to life, so the fact that these Indians scalp people is just because that's what the children mistakenly believe, as they would in 1902 with their only knowledge coming from picture books.

One other possible weakness in the story is that despite there being five children, they do not have very defined personalities. Anthea is the most thoughtful, and Robert is the nastiest, but otherwise they are fairly interchangeable in each scene. It's also really weird that Nesbit refers to the children in plural as 'it' rather than 'they'. It just feels dehumanising. The reader might also get frustrated by how poorly every single one of their wishes turns out. Nesbit herself encourages the audience at one point to consider how you would have handled the situation better, because she knows that's exactly what you are doing each time. But it is a shame that they never get to have any fun throughout the entire book! It might have been nice to have had more of a finale, but I guess it wasn't that kind of story.

Anyway, it's an enjoyable, funny little fantasy adventure story for children and I would be interested to read more by E. Nesbit now that I know her writing style is so engaging.

Cute little story about being careful on what you wish for!

I like how this book shows that simply having all the wishes you could want doesn't solve all your problems; how it can even create more problems. I thought the interactions between the siblings were well written... realistic. I'm planning to buy a copy of this book for my daughter.

I needed a break after The Count of Monte Cristo so I reread some childhood favorites. This one stood up surprisingly well. Definitely one I will keep in my collection.

A re-read on audio. Lynda Bellingham's voice is wonderfully gravelly and expressive at the same time, a bit like Judi Dench. Just as wonderful as I remembered except the chapter about the "red Indians." That is very difficult to read now.