Five Children and It (Version 2)

When five siblings uproot from London to the Kentish countryside, they expect boredom. Instead, they find something far worse: a grumpy, thousand-year-old sand-fairy with a long beard, dusty manners, and exactly one wish to give away each day. The Psammead isn't interested in making children happy. It's interested in being left alone. But wishes have a way of being made regardless, and the Lamb children soon discover that getting what you want is far easier than dealing with the consequences. They grow wings that won't fold. They become giants. They accidentally turn their baby brother into a cat. And that's only Tuesday. Woven through with Nesbit's signature wit - sharp, unsentimental, and perpetually surprised by children - this is a story about what happens when the magic does exactly what it's asked, and the asked are five impulsive, bickering, utterly human children. It's been making readers laugh since 1902, and it hasn't aged a day.