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Magic Faraway Tree Collection: 3 Books in 1 (The Faraway Tree) - Enid Blyton
by SmashBob84
Enid Blyton was an imaginative genius. I loved these books as a child, as did my younger brother and sister and when I saw this I just had to buy it to reminisce. The magic hasn't changed, although you have to wonder as an adult where she got her creativeness for these treasured stories.
The original book features the ... adventures of Jo, Bessie, Fanny and also cousin Dick and the only thing I can say that disappointed me with the changes in this more 'politically correct' version is that the names have changed. So now we have Joe, Beth, Frannie and cousin Rick; to overcome both the connotations that names may have now developed in modern society and also to bring it more up to date in terms of popular names and spellings. Political correctness gone a little mad but hey ho.
These stories are the ultimate escapism - even more so that I am an adult. With characters featuring names such as 'Moon-Face', 'Silky the Fairy', 'Saucepan Man' and 'Mr Watzisname' you can see what I mean. Their adventures take them to many lands upon the Faraway Tree (similar to Narnia but more tree like) and the book is so beautifully written you can picture the images in your head more clearly than anything else that I have ever read.
I would say that this book was originally aimed at girls and boys aged between 5 - 10, obviously with the early age group the book would need to be read to. However, this book is such a delight that it is worth finding a hard copy or treasury so that they can revisit it when they are older, and keep for their kids. A classic that will never grow old. The only reason this gets 4 not 5 stars is because it is the rewrite and not the original so it loses some of its innocence.
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Fireman Sam: To the Rescue!
by emmad5689
We were given this book in a bagful from my Auntie and as Emily was into Fireman Sam at the time we were given the book it has had a fair amount of reading in our house.
The book is from the old style series which was much more simple with less characters and no state of the art machinery like the helicopter. The front cover ... of the book shows old style Fireman Sam holding onto Rosa the cat who is saved in the story from some barbed wire. The picture is bordered with a bright red border and has the Fireman Sam logo as well as the name of the book.
The book is only about 5 inches square which is perfect for Emily to sit with on her knew and 'read' to herself but tends to cause a fight when I am trying to read it to her and she is trying to see the pictures at the same time. The book is aimed at young children and is made of thick board, ours has rather tatty edges where the book has been well read but it is still sturdy and perfectly readable.
The story is about Bella's cat Rosa who has gone missing, Sarah and James the resident twins go looking for Rosa but as always there is a disaster about to happen and in this book this is by way of an impending storm. The twins find Rosa and she is trapped in some barbed wire but they need help when they become stuck whilst trying to save her, of course Fireman Sam comes to the rescue as always and everything is fine.
The pictures in the book are more like photographs taken of the old television programmes rather than drawings and they are quite dull in colour which is that the norm in the young children's books that we have read. Emily likes the book more for the fact than it is Fireman Sam than anything else and she will sit flicking through it and telling me the cats stuck and Sam is going to save them, I think it's quite cute that she can tell me what's happening from the pictures.
I would give this 4 stars from 5 as I think that the pictures in the book let it down but other than that it is a simple story and is hard durable book which my daughter loves.
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Mr. Men Library: Mr. Happy - Roger Hargreaves
by sparkymarky1973
Mr.Happy is just one of Roger Hargreaves marvelous creations known as the Mr.Men whose books are still going strong today, decades after their adventures were first published!
Mr.Happy is perhaps one of the best recognized and best-loved of all the Mr.Men with his big yellow bonce and his beaming smile. Who wouldn't be ... cheered up by seeing that big yellow face?
Well one day, whilst out in the woods for a walk, Mr.Happy stumbles across that someone who isn't cheered by his appearance. Shut away down a dark and dismal staircase, hidden in a tree, Mr.Happy discovers someone who looks just like him apart from one notable difference. He is sad. Really sad. Downright miserable in fact. And so, Mr.Happy takes him home, determined to make his new friend happy again...whether he wants it or not.
Though, on the surface, this is a refreshingly innocent kids book, I can't help but wonder at the subtext here. Is this story really as straightforward as it seems?
Who put the miserable character there and how did Mr.Happy just "stumble" across him? Is it not more likely perhaps that what we are seeing is a Mr.Men who is more conflicted and disturbed than he appears to be? Could it not be that the journey that Mr.Happy takes to the bottom of that staircase hidden in a tree is actually a journey into his mind, into the very core of his soul and his subconscious, and that in actuality Mr.Happy is not happy at all until he faces his inner turmoil and attacks it head-on?
Or is this perhaps a satirical look at society and the way in which it forces us all to conform to an ideal? One possibility is that Mr.Happy represents Society and the sad character represents the people and that, by taking this new character in and subjecting him to what basically amounts to as emotional brain-washing, this story is really about the way in which society tries to make us all fit in to the boxes it has created for us; regardless of our own feelings on the matter.
Who is to say that the sad character wasn't 'happy' being sad until Mr.Happy stuck his oar in and decided to meddle.
Maybe this IS an innocent kids book, but to my mind there is more going on than first appears and parents should read this to their children with an air of caution....
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