| Treasure Seekers Find Gems in E. Nesbit Stories by Sally Hunt If you could wish for anything, what would it be? Fame? Riches? Or perhaps you'd just wish your cranky baby brother would grow up. What happens when your wishes come true, but not quite how you expected? That's what happens to Robert, Anthea, Cyril and Jane when they find a cranky Psamead (a sand fairy) capable of granting wishes in Five Children and It by E. Nesbit. It's dream come true--or is it? The four children (and their baby brother Lamb) soon learn that making wishes can be most tricky. They wish for treasure only to find out that no merchants will take the ancient coins of their gold, then they are arrested for theft. The children wish to be "as beautiful as the day," but the housemaid doesn't recognize them, and shoos them away from their own home for the whole day. One of the children, out of frustration, tells Lamb, "I'd wish you'd just grow up!" So he becomes a 20 year old with the selfish character of a toddler! Interestingly enough, the wishes that work the best are those which aren't based on selfish whims. Hmm. The same children's adventures continues in The Story of the Amulet, and The Phoenix and the Carpet. This series is my favorite among the many wonderful children's books by Edith Nesbit Bland, whose first book The Treasure Seekers was first published in 1899. What!! You haven't heard of E. Nesbit?! She was a favorite of C.S. Lewis, who was charmed by her books as a child. Her influence is clearly seen in the Narnia Chronicles and many other "real life fantasy" books written for children in this century. In children's literature, Nesbit's books are significant because they are the first time such fantasy stories were written. Not only are these tales written in a unique conversational tone friendly to young readers, this was the first time real children encountered magic in their own world--in this case, Edwardian England--rather than in a far-off fairy tale land. In Nesbit's stories children create their own rollicking adventures--some magical, some not--wishing for gold, digging for treasure, playing "Jungle," being scolded for getting messy. The children in her stories are avid readers with enterprising imaginations; the books they read inspire their dreams and schemes. They are brothers and sisters who bicker, but end up banding together. These characters are still lively, realistic companions for today's children, despite their age (approaching 100). Nesbit writes with wit and charm, drawing her readers in with a friendly style very appealing to children: I feel that I could go on and make this into a most interesting story about all the kind of things that the children did--just the kind of things you do yourself, you know-- and you would believe every word of it. When I told you about the children's being tiresome, as you are sometimes, your aunts would perhaps write in the margins of the story with pencil,"How true!" of "How like life!" and you would see it and very likely be annoyed. So I will tell you the really astonishing things that happened, and you may leave the book about quite safely, for no aunts and uncles, either, are likely to write "How true!" on the edge of the story. Grown-up people find it very difficult to believe really wonderful things, unless they have what they call proof... In The Treasure Seekers, the six Bastable children concoct ways to earn money for their family, which has fallen on hard times. From digging for treasure to becoming detectives, the children try their best to make money, often with humorous results. The popular Bastables return in two other Nesbit books, "The New Treasure Seekers," and "The Wouldbegoods." In the latter book, the children resolve to be as good as they can, forming a society and promising to "not be such a nuisance to grown-up people and to perform prodigies of real goodness....to rise above the kind of interesting things that you ought not to do, but to do kindness to all, however mean and low." Of course the children's good intentions often go awry, giving the book a true-to-life tone, rather than a preachy one. One of Nesbit's most popular books is "The Railway Children," this time featuring three children whose family resettles in the country side while their father is mysteriously away. The home is near a railway line and station, and the adventures of the children center around this exciting neighborhood. From saving a train from wrecking to helping a Russian gentleman find his long-lost family, the children lives are centered around the clickity-clack of the railway. (In England, this book has been make into a television show and a feature film.) (continued) Back to What We're Reading Orsig Home Page |