Cover of Five Children and It

Five Children and It

by E. Nesbit

First published
1902
Reading level
Easy
Price
Free

About the book

"Five Children and It" by E. Nesbit is a children's fantasy novel published in 1902. When five siblings discover a grumpy, ancient sand-fairy called the Psammead in a gravel pit, they're granted one wish per day—but there's a catch. Each wish vanishes at sunset, and every desire goes hilariously and dangerously wrong. From unwanted beauty to unspendable riches, from inconvenient wings to a besieged castle, the children learn that getting what you wish for isn't always what you want.

  • Siblings
  • Wishes
  • Fairies
  • Great Britain

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #17314. Five Children and It on Wikipedia.

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