Other editions of book The Story of the Amulet

"There were once four children who had the good fortune to find in the sandpit a strange creature. Its eyes were on long horns like snail's eyes, and it could move them in and out like telescopes. It had ears like a bat's ears, and its tubby body was shaped like a spider's and covered with thick soft fur -- and it had hands and feet like a monkey's. It was old, old, old, and its birthday was almost at the very beginning of everything. But it still kept its fairylikeness, and part of this fairylikeness was its power to give people whatever they wished for. "You know fairies have always been able to do this. The four children found their wishes come true; but, somehow, they never could think of just the right things to wish for, and their wishes sometimes turned out very oddly indeed. . . ." (Jacketless library hardcover.)

THE THIRD BOOK IN THE PSAMMEAD TRILOGY, FOLLOWING FIVE CHILDREN AND IT AND THE PHOENIX AND THE CARPET'I love her books, particularly the Five Children and It sequence' Neil GaimanAt a pet shop near the British Museum, the children discover their old friend the Psammead, caged and miserable. The children pool their pocket money together to rescue it, and in gratitude, the Psammead tells them to buy an amulet - or rather, half an amulet. Incomplete, the magic charm can take them to any place and time to search for its other half; but when the amulet is whole, it will have the power to give the children their hearts' desire. In their quest, the children visit ancient Egypt, Atlantis and Babylon - they even meet Julius Caesar. But their adventures are not without danger: if they lose the amulet on their travels they will be lost in time, unable to ever return home.'Endlessly surprising and inventive ... Edith Nesbit 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' Frank Cottrell-BoyceWith all the original illustrations by H. R. Millar, beautifully reproduced.This collection of the best children's literature, curated by Virago, will be coveted by children and adults alike. These are timeless tales with beautiful covers, that will be treasured and shared across the generations. Some titles you will already know; some will be new to you, but there are stories for everyone to love, whatever your age. Our list includes Nina Bawden (Carrie's War, The Peppermint Pig), Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse, An Episode of Sparrows), Joan Aiken (The Serial Garden, The Gift Giving) E. Nesbit (The Psammead Trilogy, The Bastable Trilogy, The Railway Children), Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Little Princess,The Secret Garden) and Susan Coolidge (The What Katy Did Trilogy). Discover Virago Children's Classics.

This book is the final part of a trilogy of novels that also includes Five Children and It (1902) and the Phoenix and the carpet (1904). At, the children's father, is a journalist, who went abroad to cover the war in Manchuria. The mother went to Madeira to recover from an illness, bringing with her younger brother. The children are living with an elderly nurse who established a boardinghouse in Central London. She lives with a studious Egyptologist who has filled his bedsit with ancient artifacts. Children know the scholar and become friends with him and call him Jimmy. In a shop full of unusual merchandise children find the Psammead. It had been captured by a trapper, who failed to recognize him as a magical being. The terrified creature cannot escape, but it can only grant the wishes of others, not for himself. Using a ruse, the children convince the retailer to sell them the "Mangy old monkey" and liberate their old friend.

While the childrens mother and father are out of the country the children are staying with the "old nurse" in her boarding house. There is only one other boarder, an old Egyptoligist, whom the children soon befriend. They learn of an amulet that has the ability to grant their hearts desire, and soon buy it. After making the purchase, they learn that it is the only surviving half of the amulet. Though the half of the amulet cannot grant their hearts desire, it can serve as a magic portal permitting time travel. In this book, the five children, Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and the Lamb conclude their trilogy of adventures. Book One: Five children and it Book Two: the phoenix and the carpet

The Story of the Amulet is a novel for children, written in 1906 by English author Edith Nesbit. It is the final part of a trilogy of novels that also includes Five Children and It (1902) and The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904). In it the children re-encounter the Psammead—the "it" in Five Children and It. As it no longer grants wishes to the children, however, its capacity is mainly advisory in relation to the children's other discovery, the Amulet, thus following a formula successfully established in The Phoenix and the Carpet.

There were once four children who spent their summer holidays in a white house, happily situated between a sandpit and a chalkpit. One day they had the good fortune to find in the sandpit a strange creature. Its eyes were on long horns like snail's eyes, and it could move them in and out like telescopes. It had ears like a bat's ears, and its tubby body was shaped like a spider's and covered with thick soft fur—and it had hands and feet like a monkey's. It told the children—whose names were Cyril, Robert, Anthea, and Jane—that it was a Psammead or sand-fairy. (Psammead is pronounced Sammy-ad.) It was old, old, old, and its birthday was almost at the very beginning of everything. And it had been buried in the sand for thousands of years. But it still kept its fairylikeness, and part of this fairylikeness was its power to give people whatever they wished for. You know fairies have always been able to do this. Cyril, Robert, Anthea, and Jane now found their wishes come true; but, somehow, they never could think of just the right things to wish for, and their wishes sometimes turned out very oddly indeed. In the end their unwise wishings landed them in what Robert called 'a very tight place indeed', and the Psammead consented to help them out of it in return for their promise never never to ask it to grant them any more wishes, and never to tell anyone about it, because it did not want to be bothered to give wishes to anyone ever any more. At the moment of parting Jane said politely— 'I wish we were going to see you again some day.' And the Psammead, touched by this friendly thought, granted the wish.

The Story of the Amulet is a novel for children, written in 1906 by English author Edith Nesbit. It is the final part of a trilogy of novels that also includes Five Children and It (1902) and The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904). In it the children re-encounter the Psammead—the "it" in Five Children and It. As it no longer grants wishes to the children, however, its capacity is mainly advisory in relation to the children's other discovery, the Amulet, thus following a formula successfully established in The Phoenix and the Carpet.At the beginning of this book, the journalist father of Robert, Anthea, Cyril, and Jane has gone overseas to cover the war in Manchuria. Their mother has gone to Madeira to recuperate from an illness, taking with her their younger brother, the Lamb. The children are living with an old Nurse who has set up a boardinghouse in central London. Her only remaining boarder is a scholarly Egyptologist who has filled his bedsit with ancient artefacts. During the course of the book, the children get to know the "poor learned gentleman" and befriend him and call him Jimmy. Cook's house is in Fitzrovia, the district of London near the British Museum, which Nesbit accurately conveys as having bookstalls and shops filled with unusual merchandise. In one of these shops the children find the Psammead. It had been captured by a trapper, who failed to recognise it as a magical being. The terrified creature cannot escape, for it can only grant wishes to others, not to itself. Using a ruse, the children persuade the shopkeeper to sell them the "mangy old monkey," and they free their old friend. Guided by the Psammead the children purchase an ancient amulet in the shape of an Egyptian Tyet (a small amulet of very similar shape to the picture can be seen in the British Museum today[1]), which should be able to grant them their hearts' desire: the safe return of their parents and baby brother. But this Amulet is only the surviving half of an original whole. By itself, it cannot grant their hearts' desire. Yet it can serve as a portal, enabling time travel to find the other half.... Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English author and poet; she published her books for children under the name of E. Nesbit.

The final novel in the beloved series about the adventure-seeking Bastable children, The Story of the Amulet follows the group as they are sent away to live at a boarding house while their parents are abroad. There, the children discover a mysterious charm that enables them to travel back in history. This magical tale will delight readers young and old alike.

The Story of the Amulet is a novel for children, written in 1906 by English author Edith Nesbit. It is the final part of a trilogy of novels that also includes Five Children and It (1902) and The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904). In it the children re-encounter the Psammead—the "it" in Five Children and It. As it no longer grants wishes to the children, however, its capacity is mainly advisory in relation to the children's other discovery, the Amulet, thus following a formula successfully established in The Phoenix and the Carpet.