The Phoenix and The Carpet by Edith Nesbit

sivienna · Post by **sivienna** » 20 Feb 2013, 23:23

I read this this book an an ebook. The Phoenix and The Carpet is the second book of Psammead Trilogy written by Edith Nesbit. The title caught me first. The first thing I imagine when I first read the title is that it will be taken place around a castle or Egypt. But it's not.

The story begins when the big four of five siblings - Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and the Lamb - burn a carpet in a nursery by accident. Their parents buy a carpet to replace the burned carpet. The children found a glowing yellow egg when they unroll the last fold of the carpet. The adventure begins when Robert accidentally throws the egg into fire and it hatches into an arrogant Phoenix.

The thoughtful Phoenix is in constant search of self praise, but it also shows that it cares of the children, especially when they meet danger.
"This amiable youth,"it said to the others,"has miraculously been able to put the whole meaning of the seven thousand lines of Greek invocation into one English hexameter-a little misplaced some of the words-but
"Oh, come along, come along, good old beautiful Phoenix!"
This is my favorite part. It is when the Phoenix finally accepts the shorter English version of Greek invocation to wake it up. It is kind of funny.

The adventure with the wise Cyril, the kind-hearted Anthea, the 'big' Robert, the pessimistic Jane, and the lovely little Lamb will later make the Phoenix and the carpet exhausted and force these two magical things to rest again. To feel what kind of adventure they are in, better read the book by yourself.

Cali · Post by **Cali** » 07 Oct 2013, 07:01

I haven't read this for a long time; and didn't realise it was part of a trilogy so may need to read this again and find the others. Glad I read your review

CuriousJorgi · Post by **CuriousJorgi** » 23 May 2014, 18:56

Cali wrote:I haven't read this for a long time; and didn't realise it was part of a trilogy so may need to read this again and find the others. Glad I read your review

I have this book in paperback and I too didn't realize it was a trilogy. My thanks as well. I am off to find the others.

gali · Post by **gali** » 24 May 2014, 00:55

It was one of my favorite books!!!!!!!!!! I only read the first book. I will look for the others.

Angel77 · Post by **Angel77** » 24 May 2014, 02:27

I studied this book at uni!

Seriously. It was part of the children's literature module. I really enjoyed it. It's so much fun reading beyond the lines and finding (or trying to) hidden meanings and metaphors. I haven't read 'The Phoenix and The Carpet' in a while but now I want to refresh my memory. Good book