Magic Faraway Tree Set (4 book set)

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In 1997, stories from the novels were adapted into animated ten-minute episodes for the TV series Enid Blyton's Enchanted Lands. The series, entitled Enchanted Lands: The Magic of the Faraway Tree had 13 episodes: Earlier this week during a coversation with KC 2.0, I was reminded of my favourite childhood novel EVER !

Even after all these years, I still adore this book. It's filled with the kind of adventures you long for as a child, even adult me would love to climb the Faraway Tree! But in this and some other modern editions, the corporal punishment – and any sense of threat – has just been silently removed. Rereading a childhood favourite can sometimes prove hazardous. Often, what so appealed to our younger selves we later find riddled with plot holes, become distanced from the young protagonists, or find them just generally unsuited for an adult readership. For this reason I had stayed away from my once beloved Enid Blyton, for so long. The first title of the main trilogy, The Enchanted Wood, was published in 1939, although the Faraway Tree and Moon-Face had already made a brief appearance in 1936 in The Yellow Fairy Book. A picture-strip book, Up the Faraway Tree, was published in 1951. Over the years, the Faraway Tree stories have been illustrated by various artists including Dorothy M. Wheeler (first editions), Rene Cloke, Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone, and Georgina Hargreaves. [1] The Enchanted Wood [ edit ] First edition, 1939 First edition, 1943 First edition, 1946 Review by Terry Gustafson Brief Summary by Robert Houghton: Two children, Robin and Joy read a book of exciting stories about Jo, Bessie and Fanny and the wonderful Faraway Tree and determine to go and visit the children from the book and share in their adventures. So off they go and have fun climbing the tree, meeting the people who live there, and visiting magical lands like the Land of Roundabouts and Swings, the Land of Magic, and the Land of Castles as well as having a party in the Land of Cakes!Read this as part of 2018 Ultimate Reading Challenge, Category: " A book you were supposed to read in school but haven’t yet".

Another repeated (again and again and again and again) 'gag' is where the Old Saucepan Man miss-hears every second thing said to him. "Can I have that?" "A rat you say? Where? I don't see a rat!" And on it goes. How we ... laughed. Excitedly, the children explore lands like the Land of Take-What-You-Want, the Land of Dame Slap, the Land of Topsy-Turvy, the Land of Spells, the Land of Goodies, the Land of Dreams and the glorious Land of Birthdays.In the story, there is a reference to Moonface asking Silky the fairy to help around the home. Mia tells him that he has sexist expectations of Silky, and explains why he should not say that.” Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's. My only complaint is I remember this seeming longer and them having loads more adventures but I think it would have just taken me longer to get through this book as a kid.

The second thing to note is that if you read this book as a child then all four children in the modern edition will have changed their names! If you pay attention reading this book (published 1939) you will see a good number of ideas re-used later by authors such as Roald Dahl and JK Rowling. Whether Enid Blyton was copying them in turn from some earlier writer I can't say. Suffice it to say that things like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and Willy Wonker's whole meal in a single strip of chewing gum may well have their root in the Faraway Tree's ... roots. Mia, the older girl, says that in the modern world girls are just as clever as boys, and sometimes cleverer. This book is a fantasy and there is an innocence to it which I adored. All the characters are likable even though Jo can sometimes be a brat... The initially reluctant DS#1 (age 8) was sold after a chapter or two, stole the book, and immediately read the whole thing - further, he read it at least twice while I was still doling it out a chapter or two at a time to his siblings.

Dean 2002 Collection Editions

A truly magical book that I have read way more than just this one time. I am pretty sure I read it multiple times a year from the first time I got my copy. Anytime I want to escape and just be free, this book is one of my go to books. The characters are so real to me even in all their fantasticness. It never bothers me that their mother doesn't question why Moon-Face looks the way he does or how a squirrel can talk. It never seemed strange that she didn't notice they would sneak out or that they spent most of their time up an enchanted tree. I experienced every land they went to as if I was there with them. Sometimes we all just need a little bit of magic and this book always has a way of giving me what I need. It will keep the original, magical inhabitants of the Faraway Tree, including Moon-Face, Silky the Fairy and the Saucepan Man. I have a little boy and love reading to him, so this reading list will cover the classic (and new) children’s stories we’re enjoying together. It's an odd book. The children have a deeply unconvincing home life and never appear to go to school. Their parents hardly ever let them have five minutes free of chores, but when they do they're happy to let the kids (as young as 7) stay out to midnight in the woods in the company of old men they haven't met. In this novel we are introduced to the lives of a family with 3 young children, Jo, Bessie and Fanny.

I still remember all the characters vividly. There was Joe, Bessie and Fannie, the three siblings; and then there were the magic tree dwellers, Mr Watzisname, Moon Face, Sauce-pan man and my favorite character, Silky. A British institution almost in her own right, the famous children’s author Enid Blyton was well known for her fun, friendly and accessible family oriented literature. With many enduring characters such as Noddy, the Famous Five, and the Secret Seven, she was definitely an author of her time. The stories she wrote, though, have lived on throughout the years, seeing various different incarnations over time, whilst always remaining true to the spirit of the originals. One such series that she’s particularly well known for is that of her Faraway Tree series of novels, an enduring collection of novels that retain a timeless quality to this very day. Set in a fantastical land they told stories that worked alongside the illustrations of Georgina Hargreaves to tell a magical tale of childhood wonder and enchantment. Following the adventures of Jo, Bessie and Fanny, it sees the three children moving into a new home by an enchanted forest with a magical tree they climb, taking them off to far and distant lands of magic and wonder. The Faraway Tree is a series of popular novels for children by British author Enid Blyton. The titles in the series are The Enchanted Wood (1939), The Magic Faraway Tree (1943), The Folk of the Faraway Tree (1946) and Up the Faraway Tree (1951).The tree is populated by a good number of folk, though only a few are ever named. There appears to be no water supply or sanitation, and yet Dame Washalot is endlessly tipping dirty water down the tree. Being soaked by this water offers endless amusement to all but the soakee. The Faraway Tree Series written by the much beloved Enid Blyton was one of my favorite book series when I was a kid. In fact, I’d be wrong to say it was. The book still is, and will always be very close to my heart. This was one of my favourite books when I was younger and it was lovely to revisit a a familiar story, this time in an edition beautifully illustrated by Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone. Their artwork is perfectly suited to the book.