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Summary: Delightful and Charming book
Review: Although written around a century ago, this still remains one of the great classics of Children's literature. I have not read Harry Potter yet, but I would suspect this book is at least comparable. The plot is actually fairly complex -- there's humor, drama, romance, and magic. It can be read by both children and adults and both will enjoy it. The story deals with a number of children who find a magic ring that can make your wishes come true. But this only gives a small idea of the wonders that lie within. Other great Nesbit works -- Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet.
Rating: 
Summary: True Details
Review: I had many mixed feelings about this book. I really like the plot of this story. I also really like how the author explained all the details about a main point and she didn't just assume that you knew what something was or what was going on. She also described the characters very well. Especially the "princess". She explained how the dress looked and how her face looked in great detail. It really made me have a feeling of what the princess looked like. What I didn't like was how confusing some parts of the story were. When the author was talking about the gargoyles in the story, unless you read it word by word it didn't make any sense. I also liked how she didn't have a lot of details that didn't relate to the story. It kept me on track with the book and it helped me want to keep reading it. This book also had a lot of different kinds of story types. It sort of had mystery like when they were invisible and they were listening to secret plans. It had even more fantasy than anything else. I liked how the ring in the story opened up many doors for the children to explore and helped them learn what the real power was of some things. I really liked the children that were in this book because they all had some of the same things with there personality but in other ways they were all totally different. That made me want to learn more about all the children. This was overall a pretty good book. I would like to read other book's of her's too. I think it would be fun to compare.
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Summary: This is a Great Book
Review: I loved "The Enchanted Castle." It has the same quality that is in all of Edith Nesbit's books--thought provoking and fun. I really like how in all of Edith's books, her characters find out that magic can be annoying when you meddle with it. In other books, like Harry Potter and The Gammage Cup, you seem to get the idea that magic is essential.
In the Enchanted Castle, the characters are Mable, the houskeepers niece, Gerald, the one who knows how to manage grownups, Kathleen, "Cathy Puss Cat," and Jimmy, who is always thinking about his tea. Of course, there are other characters, but I would use up about 6 pages writing them all.
The children find a magic ring that makes you invisible, four meters tall, and is a wishing ring--as well as other things like that. The ring helps them earn money, get into scrapes, and bring two old lovers together again!
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Summary: Fantastic book!
Review: I picked this up because another favorite author, Edward Eager, says it was E. Nesbit who inspired all of his incredible works. What a wonderful decision I made! Nesbit does not condescend to her reader, whatever their age, and has written an enchanting tale of the magic that can happen withn you believe. Enjoy!
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Summary: I am so glad that I read this
Review: Let's get one thing straight: under normal circumstances, I would not have read this book. But one of my friends was telling me that I had a deprived childhood since I didn't read it. Fine, I said, I'll read it. Was I pleasantly surprised! This book is a delight for adults and children alike. I was so impressed with the way that E. Nesbit had captured the essences of the children down to the very last detail. And the scenes that she presented seemed like they had come out of a dream. The characters were heartening and the story was so elaboartely woven that I marvled. You won't be dissappointed.
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Summary: The Enchanting Book
Review: My children and I have been reading this as our bedtime book. My son, age 8, was going to read it himself, but we soon found his sister, age 6, wanted me to read it instead (so I could do the "voices") so it has been turned into the nightly story. The characters: Gerald, Kathleen, and Jimmy are each drawn clearly and individually. My children are fascinated with Gerald's way of speaking as though he were telling a story. And they love Kathleen's way of alternating between being practical and yet longing for all things "magical". Jimmy is funny and endearing, as he is at that age of Not believing and yet eager for adventure. Their friend Mabel is full of mystery and make-believe and soon pulls them into a grand escapade. The author is able to vividly paint each person and each scene. It is with great reluctance we put the book down after a couple of chapters each night, wanting to finish all at once, but wanting the magic to last a little longer. When we finished, we all decided it was one of our favorites. Extremely well written. I did not find even the beginning dull or slow. From start to finish, this is one of the best children's books I've found. And we've read very many.
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Summary: The Ultimate Nesbit
Review: The children of Edgar Eager's imagination think so and I'm inclined to agree with them. This one has it all, a sleeping princess, a garden labyrinth, an enchanted castle, not to mention a summer in an abandoned school supervised only by a darling French teacher. Wait, that�s only the first two chapters! Truly this is my favorite of Nesbit�s magic novels featuring her trademark plucky heroine (times two), complicated persnickety magic, and a sequence of misadventures each more inventive and hilarious than the last. The unexpected (and often disastrous) well intentioned exploits in the style of the Railway Children and the Wouldbegoods are delightfully combined with the fantasy of The Magic City and Five Children and It. Simply required reading for any child or adult with the slightest bit of soul.
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Summary: Nesbit: An Author of wonder!
Review: The reason I only gave this book 4 stars is because of out of the 5 Edith Nesbit Books I have read so far...this is my least favourite. I think it is beacuase of how it is written. It, to me, was lacking something all the other books she wrote have. I also did not particularly enjoy the beginning of the book, as it started out dull etc. But as it went on...I fell in love with the four children. One thing that is very evident in this book is the thing of good magic. Evrything thing seems to be filled with it, therefore making the story all the better and all more exciting. I loved how it showed each of there adventures, and each of there luck with the magic ring. I also got a few laughs out of the children's injinuity. This is truly a classic, but not my favourite Nesbit book. It certainly is worth getting though.
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Summary: The book that launched a thousand fantasies
Review: This book launched a whole subgenre--fantasy books in which a group of three to five children (usually mixed gender) cross the boundry between the everyday world into the world of fantasy. It is the inspiration behind CS Lewis's Narnia books, Edward Eager's books, and generations of more recent novels. And it happens to be a wonderful read! My eight-year-old adored it--she's a huge Harry Potter fan (another series in Nesbit's debt) and thought this one was fabulous, though the Victorian language did slow her down a little.
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Summary: Harry Potter 100 Years Ago
Review: Working in a bookstore, I meet a lot of people, especially parents buying books for their children. As you can imagine, several of them ask, "What do you have that's like Harry Potter?" I always recommend E. Nesbit's books. They never know who I'm talking about. But they usually become interested very quickly. Edith Nesbit was an outspoken British writer who wrote enormously entertaining children?s books in her later years. Many of these books combine normal, everyday children with magical themes or elements. In 'The Enchanted Castle,' three children - Gerald, Cathy, and Jimmy - stumble upon a lush, beautiful garden, where they find a princess who has been asleep for 100 years. Or is she really who she says she is? All the children know is that something strange is going on - like why are the statues moving? 'The Enchanted Castle' IS enchanting. The writing is colorful, exciting, and engaging. If your child is looking for something in the Harry Potter vein, the E. Nesbit books are just what the doctor ordered. Kids won't even care that it was written nearly 100 years ago. It still reads pretty well today, and that's what counts. 291 pages
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