What would you wish for if you knew it would come true?Cyril, Andrea, Jane and Robert have left the smoke and noise of London for the quiet tranquillity of the countryside. Here, glorious sunny days stretch ahead, and the children are free to roam as they please. Their adventure begins one day in a sandpit, when they discover something most peculiar.It has the ears of a bat, eyes on long stalks like a snail, a tubby little body and soft, thick fur. It can talk and it is very grumpy. It tells them it is a sand fairy and can grant any wish they desire, with one caveat: whatever they wish for will vanish at sunset.With a world of possibilities opening before them, the children take turns wishing for the wildest things they can imagine: to be richer than kings, more beautiful than the day, to have wings and to live in a wonderful castle. But they soon learn that some wishes should not be granted, and that chasing your wildest dreams can lead to unimaginable danger...



Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) was a prolific English author considered to be one of the first modern children's writer. She is often attributed with pioneering the style of blending themes of everyday life with magic and adventure. Best known for The Railway Children and Five Children and It, she revolutionized children's literature with realistic, witty dialogue and imaginative plots.



She speaks to the reader, it's almost as though you could hear her voice



The cheerful, child-centred anarchy of Five Children and It is still my inspiration and delight



There were fantasy writers before Nesbit but she is the one that brought the magical and the mundane together in a moment of nuclear fusion. She opened the door in the magic wardrobe, pointed the way to platform nine and three quarters. She even had a hand in building the Tardis. And these are among her minor achievements. She is also simply the funniest writer we have ever had