The Story of the Amulet

If you’ve read Five Children and It and wondered what happened when those five kids encountered the magical Psammead again, The Story of the Amulet delivers exactly the kind of follow-up adventure that made Edith Nesbit a legend in children’s literature. This 114-page gem was published in 2014 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, making it newly available to modern readers while maintaining all the charm of Nesbit’s original storytelling.

What makes this book so enduring is how it captures something magical about childhood itself—that hunger for wonder, the longing to fix what’s broken in your world, and the realization that sometimes getting what you wish for teaches you more than you expected. Nesbit understood this intuitively, and it shows in every page of The Story of the Amulet. The narrative starts with the children separated from their parents, stuck with their Nurse, and absolutely desperate for adventure. That emotional foundation grounds what could have been just another wish-fulfillment fantasy into something far more human.

The setup is irresistible: the Psammead returns, and this time the children learn about an ancient Amulet that promises to help them find their heart’s desire. But here’s where Nesbit gets clever—it’s only half an amulet. The hunt for the missing half sends them careening through time itself, a concept that sounds ambitious even now, let alone when Nesbit originally wrote it. The time travel element transforms what could have been a simple treasure hunt into something that forces the children to grapple with history, consequence, and the realization that the past isn’t just backdrop—it’s alive with real people and real stakes.

What makes this book memorable:

• The dynamic between the children feels genuine, not manufactured. They argue, disagree, and sometimes drive each other crazy, which makes their eventual unity feel earned
• Nesbit’s dialogue crackles with wit and personality. Her characters actually sound like people, not vehicles for exposition
• The time-travel episodes are inventive without feeling bloated or self-indulgent in a 114-page narrative
• The exploration of wishes as a theme goes deeper than simple “be careful what you wish for” moralizing

Readers and critics have had mixed reactions to how the plot resolves, which is worth acknowledging. Per Becky’s Book Reviews, the resolution felt forced to some—the sense that Nesbit herself wasn’t entirely sure how to tie everything together. That’s fair criticism. Yet that very uncertainty, that slight roughness around the edges, is part of what gives the book its charm. It reads like Nesbit was discovering the story alongside her readers, figuring out the rules of magic and time as she went.

The real legacy of The Story of the Amulet lies in how it pioneered certain ideas that fantasy writers would return to again and again. Time travel in children’s literature wasn’t invented here, but Nesbit made it feel both playful and consequential. The idea that magic comes with complications, that wishes require wisdom, that adventure is as much about understanding yourself as it is about external conflict—these threads run through everything from C.S. Lewis to modern middle-grade fantasy.

> According to Alma Books, this is “an unforgettable tale of magic and time travel that has been loved by children and parents alike for more than a century.” That kind of staying power doesn’t come from being perfect. It comes from being true.

Why you should read it:

1. It’s a foundational text in children’s fantasy literature, and reading it helps you understand where so many contemporary adventure stories come from
2. Nesbit’s voice is distinctive and utterly engaging—she writes to children with respect, never talking down to them
3. The themes about desire, consequence, and what we really want from life are as relevant now as they were over a century ago
4. At 114 pages, it’s accessible. You can finish this in an afternoon or two, but it stays with you
5. It’s the capstone of the Psammead trilogy, so if you’ve loved the earlier books, this closure feels essential

The 2014 publication by CreateSpace also means the text is readily available in modern formats, and the book has been recorded beautifully for LibriVox, giving readers options for how they want to experience it. Whether you’re returning to childhood favorites or discovering Nesbit for the first time, The Story of the Amulet rewards attention. It’s a book that trusts its readers to grow alongside the characters, to understand that the real adventure isn’t just finding the Amulet—it’s becoming the kind of person who knows what to wish for.