Thoughts on… Enid Blyton
Recently there has been a renewing of interest in the children’s
book author, Enid Blyton. It is a name I have not heard or seen in a long long while
(too long in fact), but I am glad and excited that she is getting back into the
limelight.
For the uninitiated (not many I hope), Enid Blyton wrote children’s books and has churned out an impressive number of novels and short stories (no one knows exactly how many). I would argue that her most recognisable work to date would be The Famous Five series. Who hasn’t heard of the FAMOUS five? Four curious and courageous English kids and their pet dog, embarking on adventures and escapades to solve mysteries and crimes. It makes for very exciting fodder for young imaginations.
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| The Famous Five series has various covers. This is one of them (image source). |
Enid Blyton is my favourite childhood author. I have read the
aforementioned The Famous Five series, The Secret Seven series, the farm series
(The Children of Cherry Tree Farm, The Children of Willow Farm, etc.), The Faraway
Tree series, the boarding school stories (Mallory Towers series, The Naughtiest
Girl in School series), and some others I cannot remember. Not every single
book from the series, but most of them. They would keep me entertained for
hours on end.
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| Enid Blyton (image source). |
I am quite sure that Enid Blyton has helped me honed my imagination.
I don’t think I’m terribly imaginative, but her lively descriptions of
enchanting locales and peculiar characters have aided me. Her scrumptious descriptions
of food, on the other hand; picnic baskets with bottles of ginger beer, tea
with scones and crumpets, milk with cookies, simple sandwiches, created a
certain fondness in me for British fare. I devoured her books and fortunately,
my mother supports and encourages that habit since she read Enid Blyton as well.
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| The Magic Faraway Tree (image source). |
So when I found out, quite belatedly, that the Famous Five and the
Faraway Tree series will be made into films, I jumped for joy. I’ll be
relieving my childhood again and the new generation will be introduced to the
marvel that is Enid Blyton!
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