There were once five children who spent their summer holidays in a white house situated between a sand-pit and a chalk-pit. One day they found a strange creature living in the sand. It had ears like a bat's and its tubby body was covered in thick fur. This was the Psammead — a sand-fairy with the power to grant people their wishes — and its adventures are told in the book Five Children and It.

Now those children have gone back home and four new ones have arrived; George, Ellie, Pip and Lucy. The Psammead (being the last of its kind) was by then feeling lonely, and was rather pleased to hear the familiar sound of children's voices. And so, a whole series of marvellous new wishes is granted.

There were once four children — George, Ellie, Pip and Lucy — who went to stay in a white house situated between a sand-pit and a chalk pit.
Their Aunt Marchmont, whose house it was, didn't like noise, fidgeting, chattering or children, so she decided that they should spend rather a lot of time outside. Luckily, the children had already found the Psammead in the sand-pit — a small, tubby creature with ears like a bat and the power to grant the most marvellous wishes.
And so began a series of wonderful adventures.

In The Return of the Psammead, Helen Cresswell has created an enchanting sequel to E Nesbit's much-loved classic, Five Children and It.