The Enchanted Castle and Five Children and It

Considered the first modern writer for children, Edith Nesbit wrote wonderfully imaginative tales about magical adventures in the everyday world. In Five Children and It (1902), the children dig in a sandpit and find a small, bad-tempered sand-fairy, the Psammead, allowed to grant one wish per day. They wish for many things: to be beautiful, rich, grow wings. But none of the wishes turn out right. The magic does wear off at sunset. Will they survive safely?In The Enchanted Castle (1907) three children stumble on a mysterious house and discover an invisible princess and a magic ring. At first it is a great adventure. When the children need an audience for a play, they make one from old clothes, pillows, and umbrellas. Then things go inexplicably wrong. As the curtain falls, there is a ghastly applause. The creatures have come alive and most disagreeable!