E. Nesbit 
Five Children and It 

When five siblings — Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and their baby brother, the Lamb — discover a sand-fairy in their gravel pit, they are jolly surprised and a little delighted. Even better, the Psammead is able to grant them wishes, although the magic wears off at the day's end. Unfortunately, all of the wishes the children make go hilariously wrong and they soon learn that their foolish desires are more likely to get them into trouble than get them what they want!Five Children and It has been loved by children — and their parents — for over a hundred years. And Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and Lamb will continue to be loved, with the appearance of Kate Saunders' Five Children on the Western Front, an epic, heart-wrenching follow on from Five Children and It and the Psammead trilogy.