Five Children on the Western Front

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And it felt bad too, because war narratives are a very specific sort of thing and when they are applied to a book you know and love, then it is difficult to come to terms with. Nesbit’s fictional boys were of exactly the right ages to end up being killed in the trenches…” The trenches of WWI, that is. The Psammead's slaves worshipped him, and he admits that some of them "died in horrible circumstances" – though, as he says, "My dear Lamb, everyone kills a few slaves! It will mean the most to those who, when young, cherished the stories of Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and the Lamb, their golden age adventures of time travel and misbegotten wishes, and the little sand fairy who became their friend.

Saunders has also shown how the Great War was a dividing line between the traditions of the Edwardian era (represented by the children's mother) and modernity(represent by the children), especially in the ideas about class structure and the position of women in society. Taste and personal preference, as always, is what sways opinion in reviews and although I didn't hate it, I didn't like it. Before this last adventure ends, all will be changed, and the two younger children will have seen the Great War from every possible viewpoint – factory-workers, soldiers and sailors, nurses and the people left at home, and the war’s impact will be felt right at the heart of their family. Like, one time Anthea is nursing a distressed patient and suddenly hits on the idea to tell him stories about the Psammead to calm him down, and the Psammead takes full credit for this. The dawn of a Great War is occurring throughout Europe and such events stir unwelcome memories from the sand-fairy’s past.

Even so, Saunders does a good job of fleshing them out enough that you begin to get a little sick in the stomach wondering who will live and who will die.

It is very well written and it's a nice continuation of Nesbit's classic series, with some light exploration of the effects of the War on life at home in England. I absolutely loved the 5 Children and It series when I was younger, and avoided reading this book for a while as I didn't want to tarnish my memories of the original.She has also been a regular contributor to radio and television, with appearances on the Radio 4 programs Woman's Hour, Start the Week, and Kaleidoscope. The story is linked in with the war and shows how the young were the ones who sacrificed most of their lives, and although in the novel serious things happened, I missed and felt somewhat cheated at not reading about the character getting up to any mischief with their wishes.