Five Children and It

NESBIT, E[dith]. Five Children and It. With Illustrations by J.S. Goodall. London: Ernest Benn [1948]. 8vo, 275pp. Blue cloth with spine decoratively stamped in red and gold: top edge red. Numerous b&w illustrations. Spine ends and corners lightly rubbed, lightly sunned along bottom edge, slight stain to fore edge, else a clean, tight copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (light edgewear with chipping at spine ends and top front corner, slight soiling).

First Goodall-illustrated edition. The first novel in Nesbit’s beloved Psammead trilogy. When Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and their baby brother “the Lamb” move from London to the countryside of Kent, they encounter a grumpy, ugly and unpredictable sand-fairy called the Psammead. After some negotiations, the Psammead agrees to grant one wish per day – but the results of their wishes somehow never come out quite the way the children expect! Nesbit’s first fantasy novel for children and her second major success.