Five Children and It

Find a recent discussion of E. Nesbit in the media. What aspects of Five Children and It contribute to her continued legacy?

Mid-20th-century author Edward Eager was profoundly influenced by Nesbit’s works and mentioned them in each of his books. Compare the Natterjack in Eager’s The Time Garden to the Psammead. Where do you see Nesbit’s influences? Where and how does Eager innovate?

At times, Nesbit breaks into the text to address the reader directly in the first-person voice. What is the effect of this technique?

The besieging army in Chapter 6 has armor, weapons, and tents drawn from different historical periods. What point might the author be making with this observation? Support your answer with details from the text.

In Chapter 8, Nesbit maintains that she cannot describe something she hasn’t seen for herself—in this case, a boys’ fight. How and why does she maintain this stance in scenes such as the children’s first flight (Chapter 4) and the reaction of the fair vendors to Robert’s disappearance (Chapter 8)?

Discuss the importance of the rule that wishes only last until sunset to the work as a whole.

Meals, or the lack of them, are often a motivating force in the children’s adventures. Trace the progress of the children’s hunger throughout the novel and discuss its role.

Five Children and It was originally published in segments as a magazine serial; Nesbit later turned the segments into a novel. Where can one see traces of the story’s origins as a serial within the novel?