The trilogy of Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, and The Story of the Amulet, all involving the same family and their encounters with the magical being The Psammead, proved one of the most popular of Edith Nesbit's books. This text centers around the purchase of an ancient amulet that can grant them their heart's desire - the return of their parents - but which first sets them on a journey through time to ancient Babylon, Egypt, and Atlantis. Anna Bentinck's engaging reading captures the excitement and tension of the text.