C.S. Lewis said, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” In that case, Five Children and It by E.B. Nesbit is a very good children’s book.

We finished it for the third time recently, and it is one of the few books in children’s literature that Brad and I can repeat and still laugh out loud.

Nesbit’s understanding of a child’s mind, her clever wit, and overactive imagination combine to create a very poignant story about five children who discover the folly of wishing for things they don’t have.

At the outset of the book, the children meet the Psammead, a sand fairy, who lives in the gravel pit where they play. He grants them one wish a day that disappears at sunset.

At first, the children wish for things without considering the ramifications of those wishes. They find themselves in one predicament after another when they become “as beautiful as the day,” and inordinately wealthy, and are quite relieved when things return to as they were by nightfall.

Wising up a little, they request that the Psammead hide the evidence of their wishes from the servants of the house. This only complicates things further as no one can see when they need help alleviating the unintended consequences of their insatiable desires.

Eventually, the children request that the Psammead grant their wishes instantaneously, wherever they are when they might wish for them.

Unfortunately, their discontent is so pervasive, they find themselves wishing for things they don’t even want, and no opportunity to retract them once uttered.
Finding their baby brother a nuisance one morning, they mumble something about wishing anybody else wanted him, and to their shock and horror, that is exactly what happens.

Eventually, the children conclude,

“We haven’t really got anything worth having for our wishes.’
‘We’ve had things happening,’ said Robert; ‘that’s always something.’
‘It’s not enough, unless they’re the right things,’ said Cyril firmly.”

As we enter the biggest shopping season of the year, Five Children and It is a timely read aloud, opening the door to the following considerations:

• Often, the things we think would be good for us prove to be disastrous.
• Discontent not only makes a mess of our own lives, but it also hurts the people we care about.
• Our fulfillment must come from Christ alone; nothing else will satisfy!

I’d highly recommend this book as a family read aloud, or for children ages 5-15.