- Who is it for?
- Ages 10–14
- How long is it?
- 27 min
- What does it include?
- Synced read-along and a quiz
- What does it cost?
- Premium access in Emma's Library
About this audiobook
Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother (the Lamb) move to a country house and, digging in a nearby gravel-pit, wake the Psammead — a testy sand-fairy that grants one wish each day, the magic wearing off at sunset. Their first wish, to be 'as beautiful as the day,' leaves them so changed that their own servants shut them out. Wishing for wealth fills the pit with gold guineas no shopkeeper will accept. They wish for wings and are marooned atop a church tower when the sun goes down; a careless wish makes everyone crave the baby; another accidentally besieges their house with a medieval army. Wish by disastrous wish, the children learn to think before they speak — and use their last, most careful wish to set everything right.
Why it's worth a listen
Digging for Australia in a gravel-pit, four children and their baby brother unearth a Psammead — a cross, ancient sand-fairy with snail's eyes and bat's ears that can grant one wish a day. It is the funniest 'careful what you wish for' story ever written: every single wish backfires gloriously — they wish to be beautiful and nobody knows them, wish for riches they can't spend, wish for wings and get stranded on a church roof. And it turns on the question this telling leaves you with: if you could wish for anything at all, would you actually know what is worth wishing for?
What listeners will learn
Subjects: literature, storytelling, historical imagination.
- character
- setting
- conflict
- choice
- consequence
- theme
- retelling
- five
- children
- classic
Questions for after listening
- Retell the central conflict in order.
- Name one important choice and what happened because of it.
- How did the setting or tradition shape the story?
A question to keep
If you could wish for anything at all, would you actually know what is worth wishing for?
Chapters
- The Gravel-Pit and the Sand-Fairy
- A Fortune of Useless Gold
- Wings and a Church Tower
- The Lamb and the Siege of the White House
- Giants, Grown-Ups, and the Final Wish
- A Question to Keep
Editorial review
Quality reviewed · 98/100 on . Certificate EL-1DB2-0987 is bound to the exact narrated script.
The review checks factual care, audience fit, teaching quality, structure, tone and source honesty. Read the editorial standards.
Published 2026-07-11 · Updated
