CookieMonster Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 A friend just recommened Enid Blyton to me and I've never heard of her books. It seems some are written for older kids and some for younger, some are more popular and some less, but it's hard to figure out what's what. The reviews on Amazon are not helpful. And my library has a small disconnected assortment of her books. What do you think was so much fun about her books? Which titles do you think would be appropriate for a six year old? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I read the Famous Five books back when I was a kid and loved them. I introduced them to my kids and they loved them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdj2027 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I loved the Famous Five when I was a kid (read them around the age of 8-12). Actually I just put my old books on my daughter's (just turned 9) shelf last week and so far she likes them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsanniep Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 My kids, 7 and 11, have read all the Famous Five and The Secret Seven books. Definitely appropriate for kids 6 on up. If the reading's too hard for IR, they are great read-alouds! Do not hesitate to have your kids read Enid Blyton. She's one of the good ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieMonster Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Thanks, All! I'll start with the Famous Five and Secret Seven books and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Enid Blyton is fun, along the same lines of Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books. My younger son really liked Noddy books. I read some Famous 5 and Secret 7 to my older boy when he was about 8. He enjoyed them, but he got bored by them fairly quickly. He much preferred Arthur Ransome. I do have a friend who adored Blyton as a girl. She says she read them to herself all the time when she was 10 or 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ummto4 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) I read the translation starting 8 (end of second grade). I started with the famous five and secret seven series. They're v. easy to understand because they contain pure adventure. THird grade I started with the find outer series which is of whodunit/mystery genre so it's a bit like Agatha Christie for the younger audience (no murders and affairs of course). I love the Find Outer series the most though - The Pantomime Cat Mystery is the one I love the most. I would not suggest the Find Outer series for a 6 yo though. My son read the Mystery of Burning Cottage by himself when he's fourth grade and understood the plot, but he was stumped with the motive (i.e. burning the cottage to get money from the insurance). Enid Blyton also has a couple of series about girl boarding schools. I love Mallory Towers series the most. Edited July 19, 2012 by mom2moon2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I loved Enid Blyton when I was growing up -- especially the ___ of Adventure series. I still look back fondly to those kids who were left on their own in and were thrilled to have sardines for tea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wee Girl loves the Noddy books, which are about Magic Tree House level (but with awesomer color pictures). Middle Girl loves Secret Seven and Mallory Towers. Either might be good for a 6-year-old, depending on reading level and interests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Secret Seven is for a bit younger crowd than Famous Five. My kids loved both. There are a bunch of Famous Five stories written by someone else, based on the original Blyton series. They have been translated into English and my kids prefer them to the originals; I think they are perhaps more recent. Mallory Towers, a series set in a traditional British boarding school, is my favorite. The Naughtiest Girl is another boarding school series, set in a more "free school" type of school. Famous Five is of the "four kids and their dog roam the countryside, finding smugglers and other bad guys and generally having adventures, most involving really nice picnic food" genre. Compare them somewhat to the Happy Hollisters, but with an English POV. Like other books of their age, stereotypes of race, class, nationality, and culture abound. If these are too advanced for your son, start with the Rupert Annuals and then progress to Tintin. Both are adventure stories, told in a comic strip format. Rupert is more suitable for youngers, Tintin for a bit older child. Again, stereotypes abound, so proceed with awareness. If Mallory Towers is enjoyed, then the Chalet School series (by a different author), may be of interest. Edited July 19, 2012 by askPauline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I still look back fondly to those kids who were left on their own in and were thrilled to have sardines for tea. That entire genre is my favorite. I read those for hours as a child. I loved them so. I never understood why my mom wouldn't let me go camping by myself for a week in the woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LovelySummer Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I love the Find Outer series the most though - The Pantomime Cat Mystery is the one I love the most. I would not suggest the Find Outer series for a 6 yo though. My son read the Mystery of Burning Cottage by himself when he's fourth grade and understood the plot, but he was stumped with the motive (i.e. burning the cottage to get money from the insurance). I agree that "The Five Find-Outers" is the best! :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Find-Outers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Ben has enjoyed many of the mysteries for younger children, Secret Seven. We have some other ones, but he has fluttered on to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Enid Blyton was my favorite author when I was a kid, and I especially loved the Faraway Tree and Wishing Chair books. When we first started homeschooling, we even used the name Faraway Tree School. We still have my old copies of the Faraway Tree and Wishing Chair books, and my kids have all read and loved them just as much as I did. Blyton also did a retelling a Pilgrim's Progress called "The Land of Far Beyond" that's very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I was introduced to the Famous Five when I moved back to Bermuda when I was 12. The library was quite stingy with the books because there weren't enough of them for all the children on the island who wanted to read them. When I moved back to the USA a couple years later there were no Famous Five books here, and the librarians didn't even know what they were :-( That was the end of my Famous Five adventures. I was starting to outgrow them anyway. I've been meaning to find some copies for nostalgia, but haven't gotten around to it. I loved the food writing. And the affection and team work shown between the children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 6 yo, I don't know. I adored her Malory Towers and St. Clare's series. My dad bought them for me in England when I was about 10. I haven't handed them to Rebecca quite yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Love,love her books. They were the first read aloud chapter books I read to my kids. The Faraway Tree books are not to be missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I loved Enid Blyton when I was growing up -- especially the ___ of Adventure series. I still look back fondly to those kids who were left on their own in and were thrilled to have sardines for tea. I picked up a couple from this series at a used table at convention last spring. I got The Castle of Adventure and the Mountain of adventure. Hoping to track down the others from that series this year. I am also hoping to track down the nature book by enid blyton, it looks so beautiful and quaint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 If these are too advanced for your son, start with the Rupert Annuals and then progress to Tintin. Both are adventure stories, told in a comic strip format. Rupert is more suitable for youngers, Tintin for a bit older child. Again, stereotypes abound, so proceed with awareness. Rupert! Dh has yearly part-time work in the UK, and is under standing orders from Wee Girl to bring back as many Rupert annuals as he can find and stuff nto his luggage. I'm still trying to figure out how to read it aloud and make "idea" and "here" rhyme. They sure don't rhyme in Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I'm a Blyton collector and have been a fan from childhood. There are literally hundreds of her books to choose from. DS (5) is a fan of Mallory Towers :confused: and has enjoyed the Famous Five books. His first ever "chapter book" was the Faraway Tree :001_smile: Definitely a good choice for young readers. Although some people get upset about the gender stereotypes - Julian and Dick "protect the girls" and Anne does all the housekeeping / cooking, etc, while George is just weird because she wants to do boys things but really shouldn't, and so on... not something I've had an issue with myself, but just so you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deee Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Another vote for the fabulous Enid Blyton. I read my mother's copies as a child and passed them on to my son. He was a precocious reader and read the Secret Seven and Famous Five when he was seven, which was really a bit young. He was terribly upset when he realised that the Famous Five wasn't real and he couldn't go to England to help solve mysterious. Its one of my favourite memories: he opted to stay in the car after we got home one day so he could regain control of himself and work through his devastation. He now has a huge collection of Enid Blytons (they are common in second hand shops in Australia). Enid Blyton wrote lots of books for younger kids. The Faraway Tree series is a standout. Naughty Amelia Jane, Mr Pink Whistle and the Children of Willow Farm are big favourites here. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 My family can't get enough of The Magic Far Away Tree. The Magic Far AWay Tree Again, & so on. The ones with Moon Face in it. Dh started this obsession, & his father started it before that, & so on. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 He was terribly upset when he realised that the Famous Five wasn't real and he couldn't go to England to help solve mysterious. Its one of my favourite memories: he opted to stay in the car after we got home one day so he could regain control of himself and work through his devastation. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medieval Mom Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I haven't read any of her books, but ds is thoroughly enjoying her Nature Lover's Book. :D Yikes! Two years ago, I bought this book for $16. Didn't realize it was now OOP and $$$$$!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 :lurk5: Lurking because I have never heard of her, and I recently bought her retelling of Pilgrim's Progress. I wanted to introduce my ds to this story and I just couldn't see reading the actual Bunyan to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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