Showing results by author "E. Nesbit" in All Categories

Timeless Tales for Kids is an enchanting compilation of children's classic stories read by an all-star cast. Olivia Colman reads E. Nesbit's classic novel The Railway Children, a masterpiece in children's fiction wonderfully evoking a bygone age, packed with fun, excitement and adventure. Bill Nighy reads a much-loved children's classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which continues to delight young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and magical shoes.

This superlative collection of children's stories brings together a feast of fantastic fiction, read in full by a host of top narrators and with a comprehensive track listing for ease of listening. Comprising everything from fairytales for little ones to thrilling adventures for pre-teens, these unabridged readings are ideal for families to keep, treasure and dip into as their children grow. 

Robert, Anthea, Jane, Cyril and the Lamb are on holiday at the White House, a beautiful place on the edge of a hill with a chalk quarry one side and a gravel-pit on the other. Before they have even been there a week, they make an amazing discovery. Digging in the gravel-pit, they find a fairy! The Psammead is brown, furry, fat and shaped like a spider- as well as being very old, and very grumpy. But most importantly, the creature can grant wishes, and the children are soon having the most wonderful adventures...

The story of Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis and their life in the country has never been out of print since it was first published in 1906. Charming, sentimental, and unforgettable, the novel's enduring appeal lives on in this BBC radio full-cast dramatisation starring Timothy Bateson as the Old Gentleman.

Olivia Colman reads E. Nesbit's classic novel. 'The Railway Children' is a masterpiece of children's fiction. It wonderfully evokes a bygone age and is packed with fun, excitement and adventure. When their father goes away unexpectedly, Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis have to move from London to a cottage in the countryside. At the local station they make friends with the porter, Perks, and spend their time waving to the passengers on the trains.

Curious to see if people on the other side of the globe walk upside down, Robert, Anthea, Cyril, Jane, and their baby brother start digging a hole to Australia. They don’t get too far, however, before they dig up a furry brown creature with bat’s ears. It is a Psammead, an ancient sand-fairy. The Sammyadd, as the children call it, grumpily tells them that he is obliged to grant their wishes, because making people’s wishes come true is what Sandfairies do. However, there is one catch: The wishes come undone at sunset.

"The Lark" has all the charm and freshness which have made Miss Nesbit's former novels so justly popular, and yet the story is entirely new and original. Two girls, Jane and Lucilla, are led by Jane's guardian to entertain high hopes. The fortune, however, which Jane was to have inherited, has been lost by unlucky speculations, and the two girls have to set about earning their own livings. They experience many adventures and ups and downs of fortune before they meet with the two men who ensure their happiness and prosperity. A delightful story, well worth reading. (Summary from 1922 ...

Father has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. Now Mother has moved Roberta, Peter, and Phyllis from London to an old English country house. Missing the hustle and bustle of the city, the children are ecstatic to find that their new home is near a railway station. Making friends with both the porter and the station master is great fun. So is waving to a kindly old gentleman who rides through on the 9:15 every morning. When mother gets sick, it is he to whom they turn for help. And later, when a fortunate twist of fate returns their father to them, they are surprised to find the old gentleman involved once again.

Edith Nesbit was to children in the early 20th century what J.K. Rowling is to today's young generation. Magic, mythical creatures, time travel, charms, words of power... Nesbit's stories have it all. This recording is the complete collection of Edith Nesbit's Psammead series, comprising three captivating stories:Five Children and It.The story begins when a group of five children - Robert, Anthea, Cyril, Jane, and their baby brother, the Lamb - move from London to the countryside of Kent.

E Nesbit is widely regarded as the first modern children's writer. Her ground-breaking novels have influenced authors from Oscar Wilde to Jacqueline Wilson, and over 100 years after their first publication, they remain perennially popular. This wide-ranging collection comprises some of her very best children's fiction, commencing with her timeless tale The Railway Children. 

Orphaned cousins Jane and Lucilla, both 19, receive the exciting news that their guardian is at last allowing them to leave boarding school. But their rosy future is thwarted when they find he has made some bad investments and fled, leaving them with a cottage in the English countryside and a modest bank account.

In this follow-up to Nesbit’s classic Five Children and It, Cyril, Robert, Anthea, Jane, and the Lamb have more magical adventures in store when a mysterious egg hatches in the nursery fireplace. Out comes a flame-colored bird, the Phoenix, who, though a bit conceited, proves very helpful indeed. The bird kindly explains that the second-hand Persian carpet recently acquired for the nursery is actually a flying one. On it, they may travel to any place and time that they wish. But once again, the children find that magic does not always go as planned.

All six Bastable children—Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel and Horace Octavius—are ambitious adventurers, digging detectives and intrepid treasure seekers by nature. Unfortunately, the Bastable family is currently facing an uncertain financial future. When father takes ill, and his business...

Jerry, Jimmy, and Kathleen can’t go home for their school holiday because their cousin is sick with measles there. Instead, they stay at Kathleen’s school with the French teacher. One morning, they set out to find adventure. Instead, they find an enchanted place - and magic, too! Walking through a nearby forest, they discover an enormous mansion, where a girl lies asleep in the garden. Although she pretends to be an enchanted princess, she is Mabel, the housekeeper’s niece. But she has a ring that really is magical. It can make the wearer invisible and grant wishes.

Julia McKenzie, Simon Carter and Terry Molloy star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. On a hot, Edwardian summer's day, five children are granted a series of wishes by a strange creature they find.

Sixteen classic stories from masters of the genre: "The Judge's House", by Bram Stoker; "A Jug of Sirup", by Ambrose Bierce; "The Reconciliation", by Lafcadio Hearn; "The Woman With a Candle" by W. Bourne Cooke; "The Ebony Frame", by E. Nesbit; "On the Northern Ice", by Elia W. Peattie; "The Haunted Doll's House", by M. R. James; "The Old House in Vauxhall Walk", by Charlotte Riddell; "The Underground Ghost", by John Berwick Harwood; "Haunted", by Anon (from Tinsley's Annual); plus five more....

E. Nesbit is best known for her children's books such as The Railway Children, the Psammead series, and the stories of the Bastable family. She was also a poet and wrote many works for adults including short stories in the genre of the supernatural and the macabre. "Man-Size in Marble" is one of her strangest and most unsettling.

The Phoenix and the Carpet is the sequel to Five Children and It and continues the adventures of Robert, Cyril, Anthea, Jane, and their baby brother, Lamb. They encounter a phoenix wrapped in a magic carpet, and thus begins a series of adventures: Captivating, extraordinary, and fun, even if some of them go horribly wrong.

The House of Arden is a timeless tale of adventure, fantasy, and mystery for children (and adults) of all ages.

Filled with wit and humour, Nesbit's 1902 fantasy tells the adventure of five siblings sent to spend the summer with their uncle. One day, when the children wander from the strange house by the sea to play in old gravel pits, they uncover 'It', a prehistoric Sand-fairy. The unusual Sand-fairy grants the children one wish a day, each lasting until sunset. Though wishes can come true, they are not always as pleasant as they might seem, which the children soon discover.