Enid Blyton in general

I'm certain that everyone must have heard Enid Blyton as apparently her book sales have been in excess of 400 million copies worldwide. She was a prolific children's author & I'm sure there are many, like me, who wouldn't have experienced the joy of reading if she hadn't written when she did. Her works can broadly be popped into 3 categories I guess - - fantasy - including elves, goblins & pixies - eg The Faraway Tree & Wishing Chair stories - boarding school tales such as Malory Towers, St Clares & The Naughtiest Girl novels - those involving 'ordinary' kids in extraordinary situations such as solving mysteries, crimes ...  Read the complete review

I've previously written about my favourite series of books written by Enid Blyton, and I thought I'd tell you all about a hardback book that was bought for me by my ever-loving parents for my tenth birthday. Before I start, I don't think this book is available new any more, but you may be able to find it in a second-hand (or charity) shop, or at a boot sale or even a jumble sale (are these still held anymore?). The book in question is The St. Clare's Trilogy, which has a bright yellow cover and contains the first three books in the St. Clare's series, which is about Pat and Isobel O'Sullivan and their fun and misadventures at boarding school. The ...  Read the complete review

Don’t you just love the wonderfully odd logic of children? When I was younger, for example, I desperately wanted to go to an Enid Blyton style Boarding school. When I realized this wasn’t likely to happen, I made up my mind that I would be a teacher at one when I was older because that way I’d be getting paid to do things like have midnight feasts by the pool. It never seemed to click in my little mind that teachers wouldn’t get these “bonuses” and that ginger beer is no longer as readily available as it used to be… Back to the subject at hand then. Enid Blyton. BIOGRAPHY Enid Mary Blyton was born in ...  Read the complete review

Enid Blyton has sold at least 300 million books and her work is translated into 130 languages! Why so successful? She wrote like a ten year-old. Ask an average ten year-old to write an adventure story and it might read something like this: "Four children go to stay in an old house at the coast. They make tree houses. They ride bikes and have picnics and go swimming. They find some dark caves with secret passages. They take a boat out to a mysterious island. They are captured by smugglers. Without any help from adults, they escape from their incompetent and silly captors and tell their story to the grateful police." The vocabulary is ...  Read the complete review

I grew up on a diet of Enid Blytons, supplemented occasionally by the odd classic, Nancy Drew mystery, Judy Blume or Paula Danziger book– but nothing beat the good old Enid Blyton tales of adventure and excitement! I’m going on 20 years of age, but still have sitting in my kitchen a big box of about 70 of her books of which I just can’t bring myself to dispose! That is illustrative of the power of Enid Blyton – she’s not just an author like Judy Blume or Paula Danziger who you read during your young adolescent years in the vain hope of cracking the mystery of growing up and boys, but is an author whose books last with you for a ...  Read the complete review