This review is not exactly on all my favorite childhood books but on Enid Blyton and the work of this brilliant writer. I read my first Enid Blyton book on my 8th birthday and since then I have become of her biggest fans. I loved her books as a child and I can say that it is because of her than I have grown to love books.
About the Author
Enid Blyton was born on 11th August 1897 in London in a family of three children. It was from a very early childhood that she started writing. She would write poems, stories and articles and send them to various periodicals. Blyton's first book, Child Whispers, a collection of verse, appeared in 1922. In 1937, she wrote her first full length novel, The Adventures of The Wishing Chair. She then went on to become the most talented children?s writer of the twentieth century. She has an astounding 4000 stories and 700 books to her credit.
Enid Blyton is a storyteller beyond compare. She can take her little readers to a beautiful world of adventure, mystery, fun and friendship. The heroes of her books are children - brave, honest and adventurous - who take on the world of?beastly adults? and come through successful.
Enid Blyton passed away in 1968 but her legacy lives on through her books which are loved by children worldwide.
Her Work
Blyton?s books and stories combine thrilling and powerful narratives with a understandable and perceptive style of writing which allow young readers to use their mind to the full. Her stories have a very strong sense of good and bad which can really influence young minds.
I would like to classify her writing into categories and then delve into each.
Adventure
Under this category, I would like to place the Circus Series, The Farm Series and the Adventure Series.
The circus series has books like?Mr. Galliano's Circus?, ?Hurrah for the Circus!? and?Circus Days Again?. These stories revolve around cute circus folks like Jimmy, Lotta, Sticky Stanley, Mr. Tonks and their loveable animals like Jumbo(an elephant) and Jemima(a chimp). The crazy adventures they land up on are great fun to read.
The Farm series takes us to Willow Farm, an old-fashioned farmhouse with a thatched roof. Flowing through the farm are silvery streams, the willows along the banks giving the farm its name. Here we get to know four children, their playful pets and their escapades on the farm. This series has books like?Children of the Willow Farm? and?More adventures in Willow farm?.
The Adventure series takes us to a mysterious island, a desolate valley, a thrilling cruise ship, a traveling circus along with four children(Philip, Dinah, Jack, Lucy-Ann) and their talking parrot Kiki. Each book provides the children with a new setting of falling into an adventure. The antics of the taking parrot keeps the reader in splits.?The Castle of Adventure?, ?The Valley of Adventure? and?The River of Adventure? are some books of this series.
Mystery
Here I?d like to place series like The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, Five Find-outers, and the R series. These are probably the most famous and most loved stories of Enid Blyton.
The Famous Five series contains the classic adventures of Julian, Dick, Anne, George and the unforgettable dog Timmy. Spooky trains, mysterious caves, fun-filled camping trips, frightening smugglers? Blyton gave us all in these amazing stories.
The Secret Seven series takes us through the adventures of seven children who form a secret club. They shadow suspects, look for clues, and find themselves in all sorts of compromising situations, but despite all that, they always get their man in the end!
Five Find-outers series tells us about the exploits of another group of children and their dog and how they always manage to solve mind-boggling mysteries before the local policeman, Theopholus Goon.
The R series(as I call it) are stories whose title always starts with the letterR.?Ring o bells Mystery?, ?Rockingdown Mystery? and?Rub-a-dub Mystery? are part of this series. These stories are about three cousins(Roger, Diana, Snubby) and their friend Barney. The four always tumble into amazing mysteries which they solve with the help of their dog Looney and monkey Mirinda.
School
In this category, I can place three of Blyton?s series - The St. Clair?s Series, Malory Towers Series *and *The Naughtiest Girl series.
All these books takes us to wonderful school days? classroom pranks, mid-night feasts, exams, punishments, jealousies and long-lasting friendships. Each series has a different set of characters but each holds in itself hours of pleasurable reading.
Fantasy
Here, I could place the books that take us to a magical world of spells, fairies, goblins, elves, witches and other magical creatures. Some books that come to my mind are?The folks of the Faraway Tree?, ?The Enchanted Wood?, ?Adventures of the Wishing chair?. Blyton has the amazing capability of taking her readers to the enchanting places that she describes. These books talk of fantasy places like the?Land of Nowhere?, ?Land of Goodies?, ?Village of Pins? and loveable characters like Mr. Watsizname, Jinky, Moonface and many more. Blyton?s Toyland stories also became very popular. These were tales of toys that would come alive at night and had all kinds of adventures. Of her toy stories, Noddy was the most popular.
To conclude, I would like to say that in today?s world where video games are taking over a child?s leisure time, parents should try and expose their children to the amazing world of books. And I can think of no better author than Enid Blyton to start with. Happy Reading!
