Customer Reviews (6)

Shakespeare for Children
I am very pleased with the book.I purchased it for my granddaughter who is 11 years of age. The stories are short and the pictures are great. It is a book that can be read and shared by the whole family.

I purchased a used book and it was very clean and the price was super.Why pay the higher price if you don't know if you will like it.Thank you Amazon for giving me choices.

Good introduction to Shakespeare
This little gem of a book is perfect for any fan of Shakespeare. It's also a great way to introduce younger kids into the world of the Bard. A variety of famous plays are abridged and rewritten for children, always staying true to the stories, characters, and tone of Shakespeare. The illustrations are gorgeous, as well.

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
My copy has been a family treasure, thus read aloud over and over.This is an excelent book to read aloud with families and children.The many small illustrations aid the interest of the young reader and listener.E. Nesbit creates an excellent transition between today's spoken English and the language you will hear in Shakespeare's plays.

See for Yourself...
This book is good for historical value and amusement, but if seeing a Timon of Athens who looks like he waltzed out of a fairy story is bothersome to you, don't buy it.E. Nesbit is firmly of the "Shakespeare is the greatest moralist since Jesus Christ" school, and the plots have been tailored to fit this characterization.The tales have so little to do with actual Shakespeare that your own memorial reconstructions would be more accurate and entertaining.But you can check it out for yourself at .

Great Book
I think that this is a great book to help children and anyone else to understand Shakespeare.It is written in clear easy to understand text and is a great way to get the basic story line of Shakespeare's most poupularplays.I do have one complaint and that is the publisher's spelled E.Nesbit's name wrong they spelled it Nesbitt when it is really Nesbit. It isa good thing E. Nesbit isn't around anymore because I don't think she wouldappriciate it, I know I wouldn't. ... Read more

Product Description
Oswald Bastable and Othersby Edith Nesbit

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Product Description
At the end of "Five Children and It" the five children promised not to ask the Psammead for another wish as long as they lived, but expressed a half wish to see it again some time. They find 'it' again in a pet shop in Camden Town, and their magic adventures start over again. 'It' leads them to a magic amulet - half of it actually - which they use it to try and find the other half. It takes them back to ancient Egypt and Babylon. The Queen of Babylon visits them in London, bringing all her ancient customs with her - which is awkward. They visit the lost continent of Atlantis. They see Julius Caesar in the flesh, but none of these adventures run smoothly, and if they forget the 'word of power' or lose the amulet, what would happen to them? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

E. Nesbit is the best
I loved her books when I was a child in the sixties and I love to think that they have been around for over a hundred years and yet they are still wonderful stories that don't feel at all old-fashioned. The world they are set in is certainly different from ours, which adds to their interest, but the writing is immediate and there is nothing mannered or didactic that one might associate with books from Victorian times. A combination of lively, very real children, with sometimes a little magic thrown in and sometimes just the adventures children have when they're not too closely supervised, the books are fast-paced, humorous and adorably wholesome.

E. Nesbit
Edith Nesbit is my personal hero. I read a review once that explained that when a reader first discovers this Victorian authoress, he or she always feels as if come across some revelation.

An all but lost classic
E. Nesbit's books are to be recommended to every child with spirit and imagination.All her books, including The Story of the Amulet were written at a time when children's vocabularies were assumed to include two and three syllabel words.Readers of modern garbage may stumble over a few long and archaic terms but for a spirited romp full of imagination, courage and magic, these books are indeed magic.Childrens literature at its best.

no title
What a charming children's story!Aimed for kids about 10 and up, including me.Written in 1905 or 6, set in London, but escaping to ancient Tyre, Egypt, England, Babylon, through the magic of the Amulet.It actually tells quite a lot about 1905 London, most of it rather unpleasant.A Good Read.

80 out of 100
I liked "The Story of the Amulet", by Edith Nesbit.It is a well written and thought-provoking book.The children introduced in "The Five Children and It" and seen again in "The Pheonix and the Carpet" are back once more to finish the trio.As in "The Pheonix and the Carpet", this is a travelling book.However in this book the children travel in both time and space to search for the other half of an amulet that, when joined, will give the children their heart's desire.I removed a star for a few reasons.One, out of the five books by Nesbit that I have read, this is ranked 5th.That is not to say that this was a bad book.It's just that I thought the other ones were better.Two, I like the books where the characters are granted wishes best, as in "The Five Children and It".However, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes magical happenings, time travel, and those who liked other Edith Nesbit books. ... Read more

Product Description
The Magic World is an influential collection of twelve short stories by E Nesbit. It was first published in book form in 1912 by Macmillan and Co. Ltd, with illustrations by H. R. Millar and Gerald Spencer Pryse. The stories, previously printed in magazines (like Blackie's Children's Annual), are typical of Nesbit's arch, ironic, clever fantasies for children.

The twelve stories in the collection include:

"The Cat-hood of Maurice" — a boy abuses the family cat, and learns to see things from the feline point of view.
"The Mixed Mine" — two boys find a magic spyglass, and use it to make their fortunes.
"Accidental Magic" — Quentin falls asleep on the altarstone at Stonehenge, and wakes in Atlantis.
"The Princess and the Hedge-pig" — King Ozymandias and Queen Eliza plan a secret christening for their Princess Ozyliza, to avoid a wicked fairy's curse. Things go awry.
"Septimus Septimusson" — he is the seventh son of a seventh son, who can see fairies and hear the beasts speak; and he must seek his fortune.
"The White Cat" — a boy finds a china ornament in the attic; it proves to be a magic talisman...
... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Great stories but e book badly formatted for the price
This e book is really badly formatted and you can get the same stories for half the price by other publishers so check what your buying.

Quite good.
This one is sort of variable. Some of the stories were wonderful, while others did not hook me. That being said, anything Nesbit does is well-written and interesting. Especially as they were written in the early 1900s!

fast book (revised)
I rated this book 2 stars because it went to fast for me. for example, the first story "the cat-hood of Maurice" the only things I got out of the story were that he turned into a cat then by the cat then got turned back into a human at the end by the same cat. My suggestion is that if you are the kind of person who like stories was they speak old English and make you read fast so you have to keep your self at a steady pace this is the book for you.

fast book
i rated this book 2 stars because it went to fast for me. for example, the first story "the cat-hood of maurice" the only things i got out of the story were that he turned into a cat then by the cat then got turned back into a human at the end by the same cat. my suggestion is that if you are the kinda of person who like stories were they speak old english and make you read fast so you have to keep your self at a steady pace this is the book for you.

Valuable Stories
This is a great book. I bought it when I was about to go on a trip, and I couldn't read it until I got on the plane. I allowed myself to read one story. The story was "The White Cat". Now, this was a great story, with a great charector. The white cat enchanted me, especialy because my grandmother had a white china cat. It was all I could do to wait until the plane to read the rest, but I did. The rest of the book was great, too, but my favorite story was still the White Cat. Some of my other favorite stories were Belenda and Bellamont, the Princess and the Hedge Pig, and the Cathood of Maurice. These are really great stories. After awhile, I got my grandma to give me her own white cat, and I felt so glad.These stories have great effects on the readers. ... Read more

Product Description
OH, what a garden it was, living gold, living green, Full of enchantments like spices embalming the air, There, where you fled and I followed--you ever unseen, Yet each glad pulse of me cried to my heart, "She is there!" ... Read more

Product Description
Two similar, companion works in one convenient book.

Tales from Shakespeare is an English children's book written by Charles Lamb with his sister Mary Lamb.

The book reduced the archaic English and complicated storyline of Shakespeare to a simple level that children (and many adults!) could easily read and comprehend.

Twenty classic tales are included.

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is a collection published by Edith Nesbit with the intention of entertaining young readers and telling William Shakespeare's plays in a way they could be easily understood. ... Read more

Product Description
The Book of Dragons is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by E. (Edith) Nesbit is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of E. (Edith) Nesbit then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

NOT illustrated
Be warned that the $5.99 paperback edition with the purple and black moonlit dragon cover is NOT illustrated, despite the Amazon description. Since the enchanting illustrations are a major reason I loved this book as a child this was extremely disappointing and I'm now going to have to find an illustrated edition. Otherwise the book is fine and the cover picture is quite attractive.
Amazon should have separate webpages for various editions when they differ in important respects. I feel this was misleading advertising, but returning the book would cost more in postage than it's worth.

Here there be dragons
It's a fact: every fantasy geek loves dragons, and even though E. Nesbit's time was prior to the modern fantasy lore era, these stories still pack an awesome punch of good dragon stories.

Through her nostalgic style of writing, she gives us a variety of dragons, good and evil, a variety of wondrous settings, and all types of personalities of the fabled beasts.

This is a fairy-tale necessity for all dragon lovers.

E Nesbit and her Dragons
I have long enjoyed the works for children by E. Nesbit. this "Book of Dragons" is no exception. The deft combining of fantasy and realism is sure to appeal to young minds. I have been collecting her work for my grandchildren for some time and am delighted to add this gem to the pile. The children will simply have to wait until I have finished reading them again.

Magical World Of Edith Nesbit Stands The Test Of Time...Fabulous Fun For Kids
This review refers to the 1987 Watermill Classic edition of "The Book Of Dragons" by E. Nesbit...

A young King, lets loose a Dragon from a storybook, and he must figure a way to get it back, before the dragon eats the entire town!A kind young man explores a cave and comes across a Cockatrice, a big yellow dragon and it's baby, a Drakling. A princess waits years in a tower to be rescued by her true love. Edith Nesbit has written a collection of fabulous and adventurous tales of brave and daring young heroes facing up to the big bad dragon and saving the day.She gives fun names, teriffic descriptions and adventures kids will love.They are short stories that have stood the test of time over 100 years later.

There are tales of upside lands where elephants are the size of guinea pigs, and rabbits are as big as dinosaurs,where fantastic animals come alive right from the pages of books, of magical lands, young Kings and princesses, and of inquisitive, and sometimes mischievous children who travel far and wide to face their fears.

There are 8 short stories in all, and they include, "The Book of Beasts","Uncle James, or the Purple Stranger", "The Deliverers of Their Country","The Ice Dragon, or Do as You are Told", "The Island Of the Nine Whirlpools", "The Dragon Tamers","The Fiery Dragon, or the Heart of Stone and the Heart of Gold", "Kind Little Edmund, or the Caves and the Cockatrice".

I feel these stories and the reading level, are geared towards a little bit older child, maybe 8-12, as some of the stories are quite fantastic and may be even be a little scary for the young child. I think these stories would be great to read aloud together, and passed down from generation to generation. My only reason for going 4 stars for this 1987 Watermill Classic edition, is that although it is Complete and Unabridged, it does not include the illustrations that the editor's review talks about. They are probably referring the the re-issues of 1992 and 1997 by Troll Communications, which are both sold here.. So you may want to check with the outside sellers to see if the illustrations are included in the edition they are selling.

These are magical stories that would be enjoyed by a boy or girl, and with 8 separate stories, may be more motivational and enjoyable for those that aren't too keen on reading.

Enter the fantastic world of Edith Nesbit with your kids and enjoy.....Laurie

young readers may also enjoy:
The Big Book of Dinosaurs: A Natural History of the Prehistoric World

GHOSTBUSTERS II (Yearling)

Side By Side: poems to read together(very young readers or read together)

Frankenstein (Great Illustrated Classics)

see my reviews for details of these books

My review
I think this book is cool. it was about adventure, magic, action and even humor!!!
I did a book report on this book to!! ... Read more

Product Description
DICKIE lived at New Cross. At least the address was New Cross, but really the house where he lived was one of a row of horrid little houses built on the slope where once green fields ran down the hill to the river, and the old houses of the Deptford merchants stood stately in their pleasant gardens and fruitful orchards. All those good fields and happy gardens are built over now. It is as though some wicked giant had taken a big brush full of yellow ochre paint, and another full of mud color, and had painted out the green in streaks of dull yellow and filthy brown; and the brown is the roads and the yellow is the houses. Miles and miles and miles of them, and not a green thing to be seen except the cabbages in the greengrocers' shops, and here and there some poor trails of creeping-jenny drooping from a dirty window-sill. There is a little yard at the back of each house; this is called «the garden,» and some of these show green – but they only show it to the houses' back windows. You cannot see it from the street. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

sequel to _the House of Arden_
if you like mouldiwarps, or interesting turn-of-the-century iconography of Jews (in this case, a kind-ish pawnbroker and a magic star of david, this is for you.it fills in the backstory of Nesbit's earlier book, and is of interest to scholars and enthusiasts if not every child reader.

A 100 year old magical adventure that still shines with wonder
Are Edith Nesbit's novels where J. K. Rowling got the idea for her Harry Potter series in which magical witches and wizards live secretly among normal humdrum people (muggles)? It was Nesbit, who wrote 60 children's novels, that first started writing about everyday English children discovering magical people, charms, and spells in their midst. One of the founding members of the Fabian Society, Nesbit was famous in her time for her Socialist beliefs and friends. However, presently it is her children's books that are her enduring legacy.

Harding's Luck is the second of a pair of novels about Dickie Harding a young orphan in 1906 London who uses a crutch because his left leg doesn't work. When his father died he left Dickie an old toy that was to bring him luck, but as the story opens there is little luck or joy in the child's life.

Nesbit's Socialist beliefs are strongly represented in her portrayal of Dickie's poverty. She describes life for the poor of the time as follows. "...All the green trees are gone, and good work is gone, and people do bad work for just so much as will keep together their worn bodies and desolate souls. And sometimes they starve to death." She also portrays a society strictly divided by class in which Dickie is poor but has noble blood which elevates him above those around him.

The magic of the story is a spell involving the toy his father gave him that puts him in contact with a trio of magical moles called Mouldiwarps and a nursemaid witch. This group transport him back 300 years to the time of King James I where he is Richard Arden, a young boy of noble family who has two healthy legs. He travels back and forth between his London and that of James I with the help of the Mouldiwarps. In the process he saves the Arden family's fortune and has to decide between his present-day London and that of 300 years ago.

Nesbit is a wonderful storyteller and the plot is full of detail and adventure that make it a delight to read. Her use of the street language of the time makes this a difficult book for young readers of today, but adults who like children's literature will find it a delightful glimpse of English life. H. R. Millar's 16 original drawings help bring the tale to life. This Books of Wonder edition suffers from bad proofreading. I found over a dozen misspellings that should have been caught in the editing process. Although this is one of a two volume series, it can be read alone with no problem.

an elderly englishman's view
I'm buying 'Harding's Luck' for one of my 6 grandaughters - a very bright girl in Australia coming up for eleven years old, about the age I read it myself, with huge enjoyment. Her mother tells me that her daughter spurns the modern children's novels she gives her on the grounds that they're "too real" - unlike the books sent by grandfather - as e.g 'Wind on the Moon" by Eric Linklater most recently (highly recommended for 10 year-olds,if you can find it!).
'Harding's Luck' does wear its heart on its sleeve but no more than any of the great 19th century novelists of France, Russia or Britain - or indeed the USA, - and what's wrong with a novel with a message anyway? In fact it's no more 'naive', as one of your reviewers characterises it, than "The Railway Children" made twice into films. It's a lot less preachy and sentimental than say, Little Lord Fauntleroy,whose rags-to-earldom plot line, with adult redemption thrown in, is not so far removed. But in the hands of Nesbit who unlike F. Hodgson Burnettis a 'real' writer, traditional material is transmutedthrough imagination into something rich and strange and original.
Stylisticallytoo, it is right up to Nesbit's best form - try reading it aloud.
Finally Harding's Luck has all the elements that will capture a child's sympathy and imagination : injustice, poverty,deformity,magic, romance, suspense, sacrifice,andtriumph over adversity.And with twist - the happy ending is not quite happy.

Piers Croke
London

Hard Luck - No Stars
As an enormous E Nesbit fan and an avid collector of her books I can barely describe the glee with which I embarked upon Harding's Luck. Not only a new Nesbit book, but a sequel to The House of Arden - one of my top three Nesbit picks. Alas for me this book was a sad disappointment. It was bad enough that Edred's growing up in Arden eclipsed the truly magnificent Elfrida, but in Harding's Luck cousin Richard cheats them both out of any accomplishment. This would be bad enough, but Dickie our hero is cast in the `little lame beggar boy with the heart of gold' mold. After dozens of books with keen and natural renderings of children, this sugar spun Pollyanna crossed with Tiny Tim is flat and forced. As a bit of pure conjecture I will throw the blame on the social agenda of the plot thus demonstrating that very rarely does good art come from politics over observation. All that being said, it is Nesbit and it is the conclusion to the Arden story so I suppose it must be read. However for a book to wash down this one's bitter taste I suggest The Enchanted Castle, Five Children and It, or The Treasure Seekers.

Dickens would be proud
Many of Edith Nesbit's books are not so much novels as they are sequences of shorter stories (perhaps they were published, or meant to be read, serially?)Harding's Luck and its companion, The House of Arden, have farmore complex and interwoven plots.The events in the lighter House ofArden form only a part Harding's Luck, as Dickie is a much fuller characterthan Edred and Elfrida.They must have been plotted together, as eachcontains references to the other.

As in The Psammead and the Carpet,there are numerous instances of Nesbit's socialist views (not in the modernsense of big government, more along the lines of GK Chesterton's definition"A socialist is a man who wants all the chimneys swept and all thechimney sweeps paid for it.").Children will never notice these;adults may find them sweet but sadly naive.

In their richness of plot andcharacter, and in the sense of something deeper and truer lurking behindthe superficial magic, these two are probably the crown of Nesbit's work. Givn the fact that the paperback copy of Harding's Luck costs $10, it'sworthwhile to shell out another $7 for the hardback, so you'll have itlonger. ... Read more

Product Description
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by E. (Edith) Nesbit is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of E. (Edith) Nesbit then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Readable Shakespeare
This book is a very quick way to find out what
a Shakespeare Play is all about.

Yvonne Barrett

This is a good buy
The book "Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare" by E. Nesbit is very good. The condition is perfect.

Wonderful Book To Introduce Your Children to Shakespere
When searching for a child friendly book of stories based on William Shakespere's works I came across this little gem. The book is authored by Edith Nesbit, best known for her books "The Railway Children, Five Children and It and The Enchanted Castle." Edith has done a beautiful job of translating Shakespere's works into stories which will engage children in the classic works such as "A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet and King Lear." This is a delightful way to introduce your children to the world of William Shakespere. ... Read more

Product Description
The Magic City is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by E. (Edith) Nesbit is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of E. (Edith) Nesbit then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The Magic City by E. Nesbit
All of E. Nesbit's stories are wonderful fantasies---very Edwardian but full of incredible feats of imagination. Yet they are always based on a real-life family situation. The Magic City has a young boy as its hero who has been living an idyllic life with his older sister. But when she marries, he is thrust into a new house and must deal with a new step-sister.He doesn't do this very well at first. As in the manner of all good stories, he goes through trials and tribulations and learns a lot.E. Nesbit is perhaps best known for The Railway Children. But all of her books are full of imagination.Definitely for the older child (unless you read to the child) in that it's good vocabulary.

Good book, but hard for young readers
Years ago, I stumbled across a book by Edward Eager (Knight's Castle, I believe). This guy wrote books for his children when he ran out of E. Nesbit stories to read to them. So, I discovered E. Nesbit through Edward Eager. When I started reading her, it rapidly became clear that many of my favorite authors were likely influenced by her, so when I found a book that I had not read yet, I was excited.

It's good. It's not as good as her more famous books, and it does not age well. However, there is more creativity in this work than in anything of hers that I have read. Sadly, I'm also older now, and was able to see things in this book that I would not have noticed when I was younger.

The story introduces two children who are forced to live together when their caretakers marry. (Unlike The Ogre Downstairs, I don't find fault with this plot device because the book is set around 1900. Culture was quite different then.) The girl (Lucy) quite likes the boy (Phillip), but he does not return her affection because he's upset that his life has changed. This continues when they both get magically sucked into a world that was created when Phillip built a city out of various things around the house.

This is where it gets difficult to read, due to cultural differences. See, the city is populated by the toys that the boy used to build the city. Additionally, the things in the books that he used for walls sometimes come out. So, there are a LOT of references to toys and educational materials that simply aren't common any longer. However, her writing more than makes up for the cultural divide. I am going to share some with you. If you do not wish the spoilers, buy it and read it yourself.


'I was about to tell you,' said Mr. Noah, 'and I will not answer questions. Of course it is magic. Everything in the world is magic, until you understand it.
(Mr. Noah is a character from the Noah's Ark toy set.)


'Because,' he said, 'I'm more likely to meet Lucy. Girls always keep to paths. They never explore.'

Which just shows how little he knew about girls.
(This is after Philip loses Lucy due to a strange series of circumstances.)


'But laws can't be useful and beautiful, can they?'

'They can certainly be useful,' said Mr. Noah, 'and,' he added with modest pride, 'my laws are beautiful. What do you think of this? "Everybody must try to be kind to everybody else. Any one who has been unkind must be sorry and say so."'
(Mr. Noah is also the Chief Judge, so he gets to make the laws.)


'Is it something we shall be afraid of too?' Lucy asked. And Philip at once said, 'Oh, then she really did mean to come, did she? But she wasn't to if she was afraid. Girls weren't expected to be brave.'

'They are, here,' said Mr. Noah, 'the girls are expected to be brave and the boys kind.'
(That fact that I grew up reading stuff like this goes a long way to explain my attitudes towards gender, I suppose.)


The sun was shining--there was a sun, and Mr. Noah had told the children that it came out of the poetry books, together with rain and flowers and the changing seasons--and in spite of the strange, almost-tumble-no-it's-all-right-but-you'd-better-look-out way in which the camel walked, the two travellers were very happy. The dogs bounded along in the best of spirits, and even the camel seemed less a prey than usual to that proud melancholy which you must have noticed in your visits to the Zoo as his most striking quality.
(It's true, camels are quite mournful beasts. I'll try to take photos for you some time.)


'Oh, anybody can steer then,' said Billy; 'you if you like.' So it was Lucy who steered the ark into harbour, under Mr. Noah's directions. Arks are very easy to steer if you only know the way. Of course arks are not like other vessels; they require neither sails nor steam engines, nor oars to make them move. The very arkishness of the ark makes it move just as the steersman wishes. He only has to say 'Port,' 'Starboard,' 'Right ahead,' 'Slow' and so on, and the ark (unlike many people I know) immediately does as it is told.
(I probably picked up my proclivity for parentheticals from E. Nesbit as well. Oh, and who can not bask in the awesomeness that is the word "arkishness"?)


* * * * * *

I'm sorry this chapter is cut up into bits with lines of stars, but stars are difficult to avoid when you have to tell about a lot of different things happening all at once. That is why it is much better always to keep your party together if you can. And I have allowed mine to get separated so that Philip, the parrot and the rest of the company are going through three sets of adventures all at the same time. This is most trying for me, and fully accounts for the stars. Which I hope you'll excuse. However.
(Nothing special to say here. I'm just going to let the beauty of that paragraph stand on its own.)


'The more a present costs you, the more it's worth,' said Mr. Noah. 'This has cost you so much, it's the most splendid present in the world.'
(Look, a moral lesson - just hiding in there waiting to jump out at the unwary reader.)


'Oh, dear,' said Lucy despairingly, 'aren't there any women here? They always have more sense than men.'

'What you say is rude as well as untrue,' said the red leader; 'but to avoid fuss we will lead you and your fierce dog to the huts of the women. And then perhaps you will allow us to go to sleep.'
(More gender-preconception correction. Also, note the presence of "red leader". George Lucas must have read E. Nesbit as well.)


So there you go, excellent writing and a story about creativity, magic and the imagination. How can you go wrong?

Well, you can make reference to numerous things that are no longer commonplace (Noah's Ark set, motor veils, white dominoes, draughts, blotting pads, lead soldiers, wooden dollhouse food, etc). You can also casually accept the fact that, at that time, there was a strict social hierarchy in England and only address this book to young children of the upper class. (This is very slightly addressed in the end, but not by much.) Oh, and you can suggest that it's a good idea for children to lick lead paint off of wooden toys.

However, if you can accept the book as a product of its time, and one that did try to address inequality and prejudice, just not everywhere, it's a very enjoyable read. I burst out laughing several times (especially at the end, which I shan't spoil for you). If you like reading children's stories, it's a delight. If you have children, this would be a good read-aloud book. It's not a good children's read-on-your-own book, because of the cultural differences.

I'd give this book six stars, but E. Nesbit already did

Loved it!
I loved this book as a child and still read it from time to time now.I think children who like to create imaginary worlds with their toys will enjoy this book.

Nesbit's best
More than a quarter of a century ago my sisters and I were captivated by E. Nesbit, and particularly by THE MAGIC CITY. Long unavailable (I have scoured used book shops and the Net for copies for various children) it is great to have it easily available once more. I am happy to report that my own daughter was as taken with it as her aunts and I a generation earlier, and like us she at once began building magic cities of her own. I realize that I risk the wrath of Potterites everywhere, but I suspect that in a hundred years children and their parents will still be enjoying The Magic City while Harry is at most the subject of earnest dissertations on odd trends in the early 21st century. If you have a spark of imagination and an eager child handy, grab this book.

If you love Harry Potter, try this!
Years before I even heard of Harry Potter, my mother picked up the 1910 Macmillan hardcover version of this book at a garage sale for a mere fifty cents. (Imagine, a turn-of-the-century copy of a great book for fifty cents!) At first I was put off by its volume (333 pages with illustrations) but I managed to lap up every last word of it...about seven times, I think.

Philip Haldane, our hero, and his half-sister Helen are orphans. Helen has been Philip's sister, teacher and playmate for what seemed like all his life, and there wasn't a shadow of a doubt in his mind that this would go on for ever; he wanted it to. But the unimaginable happens -- Helen marries and goes honeymooning around Europe, leaving Philip at his new residence, friendless and bitter. But soon his new, seemingly dreary life is changed by his embarking on an exciting adventure, so splendid and picturesque that he never would have dreamed that he had built it with his own hands. You see, Philip had always played building games, and he built not with plain old building blocks but with...well, everything -- everything from ink-wells to bronze Egyptian figurines! And it was while he was in the depths of his misery and pining harder than ever to see his sister again that he, the Creator, discovered it -- his Magic City -- and its delightful secrets.

Now, to look at it from a Harry Potter fan's viewpoint. I shouldn't be giving any clues, you really should have read this book at least once before comparing it with HP, but I'll just say...Philip is of course the Harry Potter of this book, but he is also the Ron Weasley because of his initial malice towards his new stepsister, Lucy -- the Hermoine Granger of this book. The Grey Nurse is the Snape/Malfoy/Voldermort figure of this book. The Great Sloth is rather like Scabbers, and Polly is somewhat Hedwig-like.And Mr. Noah is almost EXACTLY like Professor Dumbledore; if you look at the part of the book when he goes to visit the prison, you'll know what I mean :)

If that still doesn't grab the average Potter fan's attention, how about this: J.K. Rowling favours E. Nesbit as one of her must-reads! Enjoy... ... Read more

Product Description
Gerald, James and Kathleen, discover an enchanted castle while exploring during the school holidays. The lake, groves and marble statues, make a fairy-tale setting. In the middle of the maze in the garden they find a sleeping fairy-tale princess. The "princess" tells them that the castle is full of magic, and they believe her. She shows them the treasures of the castle, including a ring she says is a ring of invisibility,The children soon discover that the ring has other magical powers.Amazon.com Review
A plot summary makes this story sound ordinary by children'sliterature standards: the summer adventures of four children whodiscover an enchanted castle and a magic ring. But Edith Nesbit'sadored classic (written in 1907) is so much more than the descriptionsuggests. Right from the start, the author plays with the idea ofmagic, teasing us with a sleeping princess who turns out to be afake. Elsewhere, the magic is "real" as can be--in fact, thoughwritten nearly 100 years ago, The Enchanted Castle prefiguresthe magical realism of modern novels in the matter-of-fact way itweaves the uncanny into the children's everyday life. And, while fewauthors are confident enough to parody bad writing, Nesbit does ithilariously (and ever so gently) through one character's tendency to"talk like a book": "'To brush his hair and his clothes... was to ourhero but the work of a moment,' said Gerald." Things turn scary whenthe Ugly Wuglies, fake people made from painted cardboard masks, oldclothes, and broomsticks, come to life. But on the whole this bookabout enchantment--much praised by such luminaries as H.G. Wells andNoel Coward--is, simply, enchanting. (Ages 6 and older) --RichardFarr ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Still Enchanting 100 Years Later
Four English children discover the magic of a ring, a castle, true love, and many adventures. How amazing that over 100 years later this story still enchants children and adults alike. The mix of magic with everyday life is brilliant! My children and I enjoyed reading this story that inspired other fabulous authors like C.S. Lewis. We're grateful for Nesbit's creativity that not only kept us spellbound, but also opened the way for many of the modern fantasy books that we love.

Hard to get into
This read by my 12 year old daughter.She is an avid reader, but couldn't "get into" this.She says it was a bit dull.Only read one chapter.

FanBloodyTastic!
Please read the Editorial Amazon Review above and believe it. This book is really marvelous. I have had trouble in the past getting into books of this age because of the word choices and writing styles of the time, but this one easily overcomes that common problem. There will be a few odd expressions of the day that will need explaining, but they are slight and the kids of this book are real and human and anyone today would relate to them.

Pick it up and have yourself a wild, fun and exciting ride.

A Hundred Years Later, it Still Rocks
I can't believe this book was written over a hundred years ago! Wow. It's still sooo good. Some kids may take a bit of time getting used to, and understanding, the English as spoken at the time, but after 30 or so pages, it won't be a big deal. But note, there are some pretty old-fashioned and bizarre turns of the phrase; for today's American kids anyway. Strong characters, funny situations, good story, nice resolution and really great writing make this a must-read. Cheerio.

So much better than Harry Potter
A wonderful, wonderful book.One of the best things about it is that it creates a true, multi-dimensional, believable moral universe.This book steers clear both of the syrupy too-goodness of the Little Lord Fauntleroy and the moral blah-ness of Harry Potter.HP's world (and I've read all of them except for the last politically-correct one) is morally flat; villains do terrible things simply because they are villains, and while racism is appropriately execrated, lying does not even register as a moral choice: everyone does it, including figures of authority like Dumbledore, without a moment's thought.In contrast, in The Enchanted Castle things like lying, stealing, courage vs. cowardice, kindness vs. meanness to others are not assumed away but processed, reflected on: was this lying and when is it OK to lie, was he kind to her just then, etc.And the quality of the writing is outstanding, the language is a delight.This is Literature... HP is mere fiction. ... Read more

Product Description
"The Railway Children" are Roberta, Peter and Phyllis, three young children who move to a house near a railway when their father is wrongly accused and falsely imprisoned for selling government secrets to the Russians. The children pass the time by watching the railcars go by and waving to the passengers riding the train. Eventually they meet Perks, the station porter and an old gentleman that may be able to help get their father out of prison. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Wonderful author
I loved her books when I was a child in the sixties and I love to think that they have been around for over a hundred years and yet they are still wonderful stories that don't feel at all old-fashioned. The world they are set in is certainly different from ours, which adds to their interest, but the writing is immediate and there is nothing mannered or didactic that one might associate with books from Victorian times. A combination of lively, very real children, with sometimes a little magic thrown in and sometimes just the adventures children have when they're not too closely supervised, the books are fast-paced, humorous and adorably wholesome.
This is a story of a family under stress and the children's earnest attempts to put everything right. Heart-warming but very fun and convincing at the same time.

A new life
Roberta (known mostly as Bobbie), Peter, and Phyllis (we never learn their last names) are English siblings living in a London housing development in 1905.Their father works in a government office and their mother writes stories, and they have a pleasant, comfortable life--until, quite without warning, their beloved "daddy" vanishes out of their ken and they and their mother move out to the country, to a house called Three Chimneys near a railway line.Suddenly they're "poor," their mother is trying to support them by her pen, and nobody seems to know when their father will come back.But the railroad, whose engines become dragons with names owing to their way of bursting out of a nearby tunnel, makes up for much of the strangeness, and they make several adult friends too--the local stationmaster, his porter Mr. Perks, and "the old gentleman" who regularly rides one of the passing trains.As the months go by, an imperilled train, a lost and bewildered Russian, their mother's sudden illness, and eventually Bobbie's inadvertant discovery of the facts about Father's fate test their courage and resourcefulness.

E. Nesbit is probably best known for her fantasies, especially those starring the Five Children (Five Children and It (Puffin Classics), The Phoenix and the Carpet (Puffin classics), The story of the Amulet), but she could also write stories about ordinary, contemporary British children, and this one is described as "perhaps the most enduring."Modern readers may be confused by some of the references (hint: the "war" Mother refers to is the Russo-Japanese, arbitrated by our own Teddy Roosevelt), and will certainly disapprove of the children's not being told the truth at the very start, but the characters are lively and sympathetic, including Mother, who could be a later incarnation of the resourceful and cheerful wife in The Swiss Family Robinson (Signet Classics).And Nesbit knew how children think and behave: hers are very real--they quarrel occasionally, they don't always do right, but they try.This edition includes the original C. E. Brock pen-and-ink illustrations.

One of the best children's classics!
I'm just finished reading the Railway Children to my 10-year-old, and it is such a great read!

I loved it as a child, and this is my second time reading it aloud. I can't recommend it enough.

It's just a nice story. Set at the turn of the century, three children are forced to leave their comfortable life in London and go live in a smaller house near a railway when their father is mysteriously taken away from them. They don't know why; we don't find out until the end of the book. In the meantime, their mother is very brave, earning money by writing, and they try not to bother her by getting to know the railway and getting involved in everybody's lives all around them.

The children are very sweet, and there's a thread of definite morality throughout the book.

Don't miss it with your kids!

If you liked Railway Children, you may also want to try Little Women (Unabridged Classics) or Island of the Blue Dolphins. My children loved those ones as well!

Read It!!!
This is not simply a children's book. It is an extremely touching story of three children whose father is suddenly taken away from them and how they cope with the changed circumstances, how they adjust to "play at being poor" as their mother says. It is a book that is bound to enthrall you.

Lovely Edwardian Charmer
Utterly delightful. Loved it, ate it up. Need more Nesbit, soon as poss.

Three kids are taken to live in the English countryside when their father, well, disappears. While their mother suffers silently, and sells short fiction to help pay the bills (those were the days!), the children make a fantasy land out of their little village, especially the local railroad depot with all its fascinations. Imagine being fascinated with the steam train when it was cutting edge technology, not nostalgia!Communicating with the passengers via signs, befriending engineers, porters and station masters, even preventing a nasty rail accident, the kids end up both having fun and relieving the hardships of poor, careworn mother.

Beautiful book both remembers what its like to be a child and peeks into a childhood none of us ever knew. If you love the world of late Victorian/Edwardian Britain, read it. If you love the early parts of the Narnia books, before the kids enter the wardrobe, read it. It's precious.
... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful book!
I would have given this book 5 stars, but the pictures seem to be missing and it hampers the story just a bit. Mostly its Noel's poetry, so it is not vital to the story, but it is still a little annoying. However, this book makes me laugh out loud! Wonderful book about the young Bastables. E. Nesbit is one of my favorite authors. I love her writing style for these Treasure Seekers books. ... Read more

Product Description
New Treasure Seekers, or The Bastable Children in Search of a Fortune by Edith Nesbit
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Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Book about the Bastables
Edith Nesbit was a good writer who, although not herself great, influenced other great authors.She was beloved for her realistic books about children.By realistic, I mean her characters are not cardboard stereotypes.They are all distinctly believable.She never wrote more about any children than the Bastables: Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Noël, Alice and H.O.

Before writing this book Nesbit wrote two others, The Treasure Seekers and The Wouldbegoods.Both books were truly excellent, combining strong characters with a centered plot.The Treasure Seekers and The Wouldbegoods are easier to read by themselves, but The New Treasure Seekers is not.While the characters are as lively and as real as ever, the plotting is not.In The Treasure Seekers, the plot focused on the children's search for treasure and The Wouldbegoods was about their quest to be good.Both problems are satisfyingly resolved at the end.

However, The New Treasure Seekers has no well-defined beginning or end.It starts right after The Wouldbegoods, but then jumps back to before the Treasure Seekers for no good reason.After jumping here and there for a long time, the children catch measles and go to spend some time at the seaside.The books ends with some adventures there.

However, if you get over the lack of plot and are familiar with the characters and their history, you will enjoy a lot here.The time where Oswald and Alice pretend to be Albert-Next-Door's Uncle's adoring public is one of their most hilarious adventures.

Finally, the kindle copy is excellent with no significant errors or issues and at a good price. ... Read more

Product Description
The Magic City revolves around a character named Philip.After Philip's older sister and sole family member Helen marries, he goes off to live with his new step sister Lucy. He has trouble adjusting at first, thrown into a world different from his previous life and abandoned by his sister while she is on her honeymoon. To entertain himself he builds a giant model city from things around the house: game pieces, books, blocks, bowls, etc. Then through some magic he finds himself inside the city, and it is alive with the people he has populated it with. Some soldiers find him and tell him that two outsiders have been foretold to be coming: a Deliverer and a Destroyer. Mr. Noah, from a Noah's Arkplayset, tells Philip that there are seven great deeds to be performed if he wants to prove himself the Deliverer. Lucy, too, has found her way into the city and joins Philip as a co-Deliverer, much to his chagrin.With some seeing strong parallels to the Harry Potter books, The Magic City is a great adventure ride for people of all ages! ... Read more

Product Description
My cousin Mattie was different. She must set up to be in love, and walk home from church with Jack Halibut Sunday after Sunday, the long way round, if you please, through the meadows; and he used to buy her scent and ribbons at the fair, and send her a big valentine of lacepaper, and satin ribbons and things, though Lord knows where he got the money from--honest, I hope--for he hadn't a penny to bless himself with. ... Read more

Product Description
This file includes: The Enchanted Castle, Five Children and It, In Homespun, The Magic City, The Phoenix and the Carpet, Pussy and Doggy Tales, The Railway Children, The Story of the Amulet, The Story of the Treasure Seekers, New Treasure Seekers, and The Wouldbegoods.According to Wikipedia: "Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television. She was also a political activist and co-founded the Fabian Society, a precursor to the modern Labour Party... Nesbit published approximately 40 books for children, both novels and collections of stories. Collaborating with others, she published almost as many more.
According to her biographer Julia Briggs, Nesbit was "the first modern writer for children": "(Nesbit) helped to reverse the great tradition of children's literature inaugurated by [Lewis] Carroll, [George] MacDonald and Kenneth Grahame, in turning away from their secondary worlds to the tough truths to be won from encounters with things-as-they-are, previously the province of adult novels." Briggs also credits Nesbit with having invented the children's adventure story. Among Nesbit's best-known books are The Story of the Treasure Seekers (1898) and The Wouldbegoods (1899), which both recount stories about the Bastables, a middle class family that has fallen on relatively hard times. Her children's writing also included numerous plays and collections of verse.
She created an innovative body of work that combined realistic, contemporary children in real-world settings with magical objects and adventures and sometimes travel to fantastic worlds. In doing so, she was a direct or indirect influence on many subsequent writers, including P. L. Travers (author of Mary Poppins), Edward Eager, Diana Wynne Jones and J. K. Rowling. C. S. Lewis wrote of her influence on his Narnia[3] series and mentions the Bastable children in The Magician's Nephew. Michael Moorcock would go on to write a series of steampunk novels with an adult Oswald Bastable (of The Treasure Seekers) as the lead character." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful but could use some formatting
To be fair, I am only partly through the first book.It could use proofreading and some better formatting.There seems to be a lot of extra blank lines in between paragraphs and missing words.However given that it's eleven books for $0.99 how much can you expect?

The books, of course, are great, I have read them all in paper form.They are children's fantasy books, children finding magical rings or magical creatures and such.They were written nearly a hundred years ago but are still entertaining. ... Read more

Product Description
Edith Nesbit is one of the greatest children's writers of the century. Though known in her day for her poems, short stories and romantic novels, she is now remembered as the author of "The Railway Children", "The Treasure Seekers" and many other stories of magic and adventure. Her readers loved to think of her as a reassuringly aunt-like figure, but this biography reveals her as a wilful, demanding and adventurous woman, a true Bohemian who broke all society's rules in her search for love. Nesbit has previously been presented as the much-exploited and long-suffering victim of her husband, Hubert Bland, a compulsive womaniser. The truth is more complex: an intense, if unconsummated affair with Bernard Shaw was followed by a series of love affairs with younger men. At the same time, her closest friend Alice Hoatson moved into her home as a housekeeper, where she bore Hubert two children whom Edith brought up as her own. The Blands were the founders of the Fabian Society, and this book records their friendships with figures like the Webbs, Eleanor Marx, Olive Schreiner and H.G. Wells.Edith Nesbit's own writing reflects her dynamic energy, her sense of fun and passionate joie-de-vivre. Julia Brigg's biography explores with subtlety the complex relationship between her life and her fiction. ... Read more

Product Description
The four children acquired the magic carpet when they found a special fire egg -- it hatched in their nursery fireplace.The phoenix came from the egg, and when he saw their mother's new Persian rug, he showed them that it was a magical thing -- a flying carpet that would take them any time and that place they could wish for.Witty, genuine, full of timeless sympathy and childish sensibility, _The Phoenix and the Carpet_ offers a special ride through wonders for children of all ages.(Jacketless library hardcover.) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Puffin classics are LOVE
I love Puffin classics! Complete and unabridged, they bring stories to life for children with lovely covers and readable text, and at $3.99-$5.99 are a great deal! I'm collecting all of them. :-)

Excellent
This is another adventure of the children in Five Children and It. The children discover a magic carpet and a phoenix egg and have many more adventures. An excellent book.

Free SF Reader
The same kids from Five Children and It are now back at their house in London.One Guy Fawkes night they get a bit too keen with the fire workings, doing some damage to the floor coverings.

The replacement has an odd egg in it.Out of this, they get a Phoenix, a magic carpet, and yet more wish stuff.

Adventuresome Kids
Ms. Nesbit spun an amusing yarn of four easily bored privileged siblings (plus a baby brother) who stumbled quite fortunately on a supernatural bird and a flying carpet. The bird and the carpet fulfill wishes therefore the result is an utterly grand time for the little rascals each time they venture for a ride. And, how they make full use of the magical duo! The author's method of story telling is pretty exciting - there are asides to further relay useful information to the readers which are mostly quite witty. One could even learn how to play tricks on cooks and housemaids from the story. It might at first seem that the carpet would just take the children to one place after another in order to sate their curiosities. Don't be too sure because at the end, the reader will find himself/herself struck by the realization that all their journeys are tied together to complete a tale worth telling. Ms. Nesbit was a genius at attracting her readers' attention. It is a well-told children's fiction.

Wonderful, Classic Literature
Exceptional writing! Many of the children/youth books now-a-days, lack the ability to capture and draw the imagination the way that Nesbit can.She was truly a remarkable author. I can't wait to dive in to more of her works.If only I had been introduced to her writing sooner. Clean, inviting and witty. ... Read more

Product Description
With the Arden family castle in ruins and the family treasure lost for generations, Edred Arden is graced with the chance of a lifetime just prior to his tenth birthday. When he inherits the title of Lord he discovers that if he can find the lost family treasure before he turns ten, it will be his. With his sister Elfrida at his side, Edred sets out on a magical time-travelling quest to restore the House of Arden to its former glory. Fans of Edith Nesbit will delight in this wonderful children's story of fantastical adventure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Love New York Review Children's Collection
We now own three books published by the New York Review Children's Collection including The House of Arden.Our 10-year old daughter adores the fantasy and fun she finds inside its pages.Edred and Elfrida and their adventures in their time and place, the English countryside in the early 1800s, as well as their visits to their family's past as far back as James I sparked her imagination and her interest in history.I also highly recommend The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights by John Masefield from the same publisher.

For what age?
I was hoping to read this book to my 7 year old boy. It was heavy for him and somewhat slow. The book requires maturity and sophisticated vocabulary,somehow it does not fit the pace at which our kids live now.

It certainly can be appreciated by an older, more mature kid, who loves the Englishlanguage. It is beautifully written.

Favorite books of my childhood
I got this and "Hardings Luck" one christmas about twentyfive years ago. These stories have stayed with me throughout my adult life and I have never forgotten how I was swept away by the stories. These books are educational while being simply spellbinding...my imagination went wild, back then. Absolutely a must!

One of E. Nesbit's best
One of the delightful things about this book is that it treats children as thinking beings, yet still manages to contain all of the magic and adventure of childhood. As in all of her work, E. Nesbit tells an exciting story while encouraging the reader to consider the meaning of things.Oneof the best books written by one of the best children's writers of alltime.

Phantastic Literature of the best kind - to be reread again
Two 10-year-olds are the last survivors of a long line of english aristocrats.The family castle lies in ruins, but the children are determined to restore it to its former glory with the help of the long-lost family treasure. The task seems daunting, but they soon discover there's some intricate, powerful magic in the family crest.. Subsequently the treasure hunt hurtles along at breathtaking pace. The magic includes frequent trips into the turbulent (and dangerous) times of England's feudal past to discover the exact time and place where the treasure was hidden.. This book and it's sequel (or prequel?!) "Harding's Luck" can't be recommended enough. They are children's classics of the nicest kind - not the least bit sirupy - but full of adventure and magic ... Read more