Old-fashioned but still brilliant for today's children. (The Fairies' Shoemaker - Enid Blyton)

Member Name: leighsady

Product:	The Fairies' Shoemaker - Enid Blyton
Date:	18/07/09 (98 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Every tale has an educational moral and principle to be taught.

Disadvantages: It's style may seem a little old fashioned.

The Fairies' Shoemaker & Other Stories
by Enid Blyton.

What is it?
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A book collection of children's stories written by Enid Blyton.


Special Features?
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Contains 14 short fantasy fairytale stories, many with an educational moral to them.


I think this is a delightful book and actually bought this for myself when I was a kid, yes! I used to love reading at school and I came across a lot of Enid Blyton books (though I did not take any notice of the author at the time!). It was only when I was talking about our favourite books as kids, my friend ( who was even more of a bookworm, she actually introduced me to a lot of famous literary works when we were kids which I would never have come across without her) informed me that the books that I read were by Enid Blyton. These stories are brilliant. As well as captivating children with its fantasy worlds and building upon their imagination, many of the stories have an education moral to them - principles of conduct, treating others with respect, and to maintaining truthfulness.


I personally think this collection is especially better than the others, there are actually a large number of collections of Blyton's short stories. I think I picked this because of the pretty picture at first, but having gone through about 4 other collections I still think this is the better one.


1. Pinkity's Pranks - 6/10. About a little pixie who is always up to mischief and like to play tricks and pranks on unsuspecting members of the fairyland community. Pinkity soon realises the consequences of his actions.
2. The Careless Hedgehogs - A lovely short story teaching the importance of responsibility - 8/10.
3. The Three Naughty Gnomes - 8/10. A tale about the effects of smoking.
4. Sativus and the Pots of Gold - 8/10. A very heart warming tale of friendship vs. monetary riches.
5. The Naughty Smoke Fairies - 7/10. The ethics of working and reponsibilites.
6. The Rose That Didn't Grow - 8/10. A lovely heart-warming tale about helping others and putting others before oneself. One of my favourites.
7. A Basket of Surprises - 8/10. A wonderful story of pet responsibility. Another one of my favourites.
8. Sally Dumble's Tricks -7/10. A moral of kind heartedness and hard work does pay in the end...
9. Binkie's Adventures - 8/10. A story of the importance of listening to parent's advice.
10. Good Old Shelly Back - 7/10. Emphasises the point that we should not be too quick to accuse others.
11. The Goblin and the Rocking Horse - 7/10. Wasn't quite sure of the moral behind this one, but all the same, still a very captivating adventure for little ones to read.
12. Peppermints for Grandpa Pim - 6/10. Absolutely lost on this one, maybe I'm getting too old to understand but still a delightful little story.
13. Belinda and the Bulbs - 7/10. I don't there is a moral to this tale either but still a delightful little story about a naughty little girl!
14. The Fairies' Shoemaker - 7/10. This one is a very short but sweet story about the importance of returning people's favours.

I bought this book over a decade ago and they were something like £4 for three collection books. Now, I think you can still buy them individually for a couple of pounds or so. It's definitely one that they keep in the children's library.

The style and substance of the stories can seem quite old fashioned, but nevertheless the principles and values that are taught through these stories are still even more important for our children in today's society.

Thanks for reading. xx

©Leighsa 2009

Summary: What I use to read as a kid...