Scholastic Classics: Five Children and It
309 ratings
TO EXPLORE MORE
Price: £2.99
Brand: Scholastic
Description: When Cyril, Robert, Anthea, Jane and Lamb uncover a grumpy sand-fairy called The Psammead, they discover he has the power to grant wishes. But having been buried for so long- things tend to go awry with disastrous and often hilarious consequences. Join the Five Children and It on this classic tale of family, friendship and magical adventure. Scholastic Classics: Five Children and It - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: Scholastic
Product ID: 90170
ISBN: 9781407145419
My website utilises affiliate links when you click my 'Get the best deal now' buttons. If you buy something through one of these links, I may earn a little commission, at no extra cost to you.
I have relationships with many of the top online retailers (purchasing, shipping and returns will be handled directly by them) which enables me to offer the best deal online for the Scholastic Classics: Five Children and It and many other similar products - which will appear below, to enhance your online shopping experience.
For even more great deals on Scholastic Books, click the link.
Author: Rosemary Standeven
Rating: 5
Review: This was one of my favourite books as a child, and I don’t know how many times I read it – we have two hard-copy books of it at home, ready to lend out to friendly children. This is the first time I have seriously read it as an adult, and on Kindle. I still love the story, and the way that the children’ wishes never turn out quite the way they had imagined. Throughout, though, you need to remind yourself, that the book was written at the beginning of the 20th century – before WWI – and that attitudes, and acceptable behaviour, were quite different then. The boys are very aggressive and martial. It was considered quite OK for them to attack the Baker’s Boy and knock his loaves to the ground – just a bit of banter (!). The servants – and the Psammead - are there to do the children’s bidding, and little thought is given to their needs or feelings. Some cultural appropriation and racism in the episode with the Red Indians. But these anachronistic flaws aside – it is still a wonderful read. The writing is excellent, and I particularly like the asides to the reader from the author. You can envisage an adult reading the book directly to you. Don’t ignore the nowadays inappropriate attitudes, but see them in the historical context that they were written, and you have one of the most magical, thought provoking children’s fantasy books around. What would you wish for?
Author: Peter
Rating: 3
Review: Five Children and It is a classic childrens' story by E Nesbit - better even (in my opinion) than her other book, The Railway Children. It's fun, inventive and involving, and hidden inside the story there's a moral point (slightly more sophisticated then "be careful what you wish for", but along those lines). I've been listening to the one-CD audiobook from AudioGo, read by Lynda Bellingham. It's severely abridged to fit on a single CD, so that there are several awkward non-sequiturs, and characterisation and descriptive colour are largely absent. It's a shame, because Bellingham's delivery is very good - there's just not enough room for the story to come alive. I can't really recommend the 1-CD audiobook. The BBC broadcast a full-cast dramatisation a few years back that was very good, but it doesn't seem to be availabel to buy at the moment. I's probably say the print version (or the Kindle e-book version) are the best bets for this book at the moment.
