Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
Somewhat overlooked - this is a magical classic., 1 Jul 2003
By A Customer
I agree with the 5-star review - this is suitable for modern children.
It's restrictive, and unnecessary to assume that children only want to read contemporary stories. Children's imaginations are timeless, and classics that endure like Alice In Wonderland, Narnia Tales, and this book, do so because they capture and encourage imagination. Indeed, the current trend for Harry Potter surely shows that a book doesn't need to be contemporary to appeal to young readers. In fact, I'd say the opposite is often true.
I discovered Phoenix and the Magic Carpet when I was about 8 - I can remember seeing the wonderfully stagey BBC adaptation, and nagging my Mum for the book. It's a fantastical tale - of flying carpets, magic lands, and mythical creatures. Back then, I was also hugely taken with the Edwardian setting of grand houses and nurseries. It added to the sense of mystery and other-worldliness.
I still have my old copy - a little dog-eared but much-loved - and I'm really looking forward to sharing it with my niece as she discovers books. I'm sure she'll love it as much as I did.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
Highly recommended, 20 April 2000
By A Customer
This is a fabulous tale, excellently written. I take issue with the last reviewer on two points: it is set in Edwardian not Victorian England; and it is very suitable for modern children: how boring for children if they have to read grim 'realist' books all the time! Bob, Cyril, Anthea and Jane are endearing characters who have great fun with a magic carpet they find, taking cook to a desert island where she becomes queen, visiting far-off lands, getting marooned in an oriental tower and so on, all under the watchful eye of a wise and ancient phoenix. I read this book several times as a child and would recommend it highly, as well as its sequels, 'Story of the Amulet' and 'Five Children and It'.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
MAGICAL!!!, 25 Mar 2008
This book is a Puffin Classic. The children in this book are the same ones in `the Five Children and It' & `The Amulet'. Their names are Robert, Anthea, Jane, Cyril and baby Hilary, or as called in `the Five Children and It' - Lamb. If you don't know the story or have forgotten it, then I will jog your memory: It is about a second hand carpet that was bought for the nursery which had magical powers; it could transport them to wherever they wanted to go; also, a strange egg dropped out of it and it was the egg of a phoenix...
I thought that this book was ok. It was a bit boring at parts but some of the bits were more thrilling than going to the circus or even to Alton Towers! I would rate the book, overall, 8/ 10 and would recommend it to all!
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£1.79
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£1.79
