#136 in Children’s books
Five Children and It
- 146
- Pages
- about 2.5 h
- Reading time
- Series 1985
- On screen
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Our view
“Five Children and It” is an enduring children’s fantasy, first serialised in 1902 and never out of print since. Five siblings come upon a magical creature that grants their wishes, which rarely turn out as planned. Some readers love how ordinary and imperfect the children are; others, less at ease with older books for the young, find the child’s-eye view limits its depth. It is the first of three books.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Five Children and It is a fantasy children's novel by English author E. Nesbit. It was originally published in 1902 in the Strand Magazine under the general title The Psammead, or the Gifts, with a segment appearing each month from April to December. The stories were then expanded into a novel which was published the same year. It is the first volume of a trilogy that includes The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904) and The Story of the Amulet (1906). The book has never been out of print since its initial publication.
Reading order · Five Children
Full order & progress →- Five Children and ItThis book
7.87.8 / 10 - The Phoenix and the CarpetThe Phoenix and the Carpet–Not ranked yet
- The Story of the AmuletThe Story of the Amulet–Not ranked yet
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen once.
- SeriesOnegai! Samia-donIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.5 across 66 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 31% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Children’s books average of 7.9. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.0 | 7 | 11% |
| Hardcover | 7.4 | 59 | 89% |
Frequently asked
What age is Five Children and It for?
Five Children and It sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 146 pages — shorter than 98% of the ranked books in Children’s books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Children’s books — with scores between 7.6 and 8.1, closest to this book.
