When Cyril, Anthea, Robert and Jane accidentally destroy a carpet in
their London home with fireworks, their parents replace it with a
second-hand one. Upon unfurling it, the children find an egg inside,
and, when one of them accidentally drops it into the fire, it hatches
into a magical golden phoenix, who tells them that he can take them on
the carpet to any location they wish. This revelation sets the
siblings - and their baby brother Lamb - off on wild adventures, taking
them around London and to far-flung destinations such as India and a
remote tropical island.
After the success of Five Children and It, E. Nesbit decided to recast
its much-loved characters in this sequel, which has now become a classic
in its own right, enchanting generations of readers and inspiring many
film and television adaptations.