Helpful Score: 1
This is the third book in the Five Children and It series, book two being The Phoenix and the Carpet. Book one was funny and cute, book two less funny, and book three, in my opinion, not aiming for humor. It is an adventure story that reminded me of a cross between the Narnia books and The Series of Unfortunate Events, minus any real bad guys. In the first two books the children are granted wishes through one means or another; in this book they have half an amulet that will take them to any time and any place in history to find the other half. This book is full of ancient religions, invoking the names of gods, etc. It also, for the first time, involves grown-ups, although none who actually give the children any supervision. The children are fairly well-behaved, have a code of honor, will not steal even when they find piles of gold coins because they must belong to someone, do their best not to tell lies, and, on occasion, use the amulet to find ways to help others all without coming across as stuffy or boring. While the material is suitable for younger readers, keep a dictionary on hand there are a lot of big words.
