To wonder why Enid Blyton has such enduring appeal

[balletnotlacrosse]

Even today, with such a huge amount of children's books available, modern children still become gripped by the Famous Five, Malory Towers etc. Better written books such as The William Books, The Chalet School etc don't seem to have nearly as much appeal to young readers.

Is it because she doesn't really ground her books in a particular time? I know some of the language and activities make it clear they're not set in the 21st century, but even though most of her books were written during the 40s and early 50s there's no mention of rationing, fathers having fought during the war or any very specific references to what was quiet a seismic period of British history.

Just curious to know what the on-going fascination with her books is for today's children?

Funny enough my kids, one in particular will read anything be it recent or Heidi, Secret Garden, Roald Dahl etc, she can't stand Enid Blyton. She's tried a couple of times and to paraphrase her - dull doesn't even cover it

I'll give you an Asian perspective.

Growing up in a crowded tropical Asian city with poverty surrounding my bubble of affluence, the world of caravans, potted meat sandwiches, boarding school, going away to the seaside was absolutely mindblowing.

My mother annotated the classist and racist elements to me with care, so I filtered those out.

But Timmybwas my favourite dog.
The Malory towers midnight feasts were my dream.
I dreamt of being elizabeth the naughtiest girl in school.
I loved George of famous five and identified with her although today she makes me a bit sad.

Sitting in hot, smoky, polluted, tropical India, in my tiny flat, heated up into a ball of melted fire, the image of timmy on the snow was nothing short of a window of fresh air.

That's why it appealed to me, across oceans and seas of cultural differences.

I loved escaping into a cosy, almost dream-like version of the England I was living in. There is a strong appeal in nostalgia, even for kids. I fully realised that her characters were mainly 'posh' children and that their attitudes were a bit iffy at times.

It's very much a children's world and she doesn't clutter up the adventure with too much "dull" stuff like character or description. Once you have read one there's usually a series to continue with.

I love Just William but the humour is a bit clever for my younger child. Blyton just pauses to describe the food!

They are written in a way which captures the attention and makes you want to read on (especially Famous Five etc). And they involve peril and adventure in a safe way - you know it will always be alright in the end.

Although kids can't have the same adventures as in the book, they can certainly find ways to imagine that they might.

I think it's because most if her books are about a group of tight knit children/siblings off on their own on an adventure together, solving problems, grounded in (semi) real life - not magical, fantasy etc.

There are some amazing books around, but I can't think of many that follow this type.

I loved St Clare's and Malory Towers when younger. I equally loved (totally loved more!) Harry Potter that followed the boarding school feel.

My dd totally skipped Enid Blyton and is now onto YA stuff at 10. She tried the Magic Faraway Tree when younger and found it dull.

I have no idea.
I was expected to read and enjoy them.
As pp mentioned above - dull didn't cover it. Never mind the racism and sexism, obvious to even an 8 year old in the 80s.
As an adult I watched a biography of her and that put me off even more.

My book hating 10 year old will read Enid Blyton for hours!

I'm reading the Faraway Tree trilogy to DD1 right now and I think I can answer for her. FYI She's quite emotionally sensitive and frightens easily.

The Faraway Tree gives a 'safe' level of adventure and mildly imaginative scenarios, with relatively basic language. The characterisation is straightforward and the comedy moments are either very basic wordplay (Saucepan mis-hearing what people say) or slapstick. Nobody gets hurt badly. Nobody is ever too scared. Adults are side-characters at best.

They are also really quite repetitive. The same sort of stuff happens in slightly different ways all the way through the books.

However, for me the best bit is that they have relatively short chapters of approximately the same standard length, which means they're perfect for bedtime stories

She's probably the perfect age for it though - just turned 5. I can imagine it seeming very dull to older children.

YABU

And not because I like Enid Blyton but because there was an Enid Blyton thread in AIBU not so long ago.

I think also she created stories where adults were barely present and children were making most of the decisions. That really appealed to me.

That and the combination of adventure and knowing everything would be alright in the end.

Escapism, plus kids out having adventures on their own with no grown ups stopping them from marauding round castles, going off in boats, meeting dangerous types etc. cooking your tea in a fire, finding bars of gold, having jolly japes at school etc.
What's not to like?!

I think it is great for children to have light, escapist reading. They can either stick with this approach for reading for the rest of their lives or go on and try something new and more challenging.
The casual racism and sexism is appalling but it is something to talk about with them.

going off in boats

God you've just reminded me about Swallows and Amazons! I loved those books. Wonder when I can start DD on them.

Of course, looking back at them now I think the parents of those children are seriously negligent Also, have they changed Titty's name now? Dick and Fanny are now Rick and Frannie in the Faraway Tree, most confusing.

I love Enid Blyton and was stupid excited when I went to Wales and realised where I was staying was the same area as one of her stories. I'm 35 and still read them all over and over and I don't have children.

My 6yo likes yummy food, slapstick humour, word play (eg Huffin and Puffin) and the knowledge that it'll all be ok at the end of the book. And she rather enjoys the plot repetition, and the very obvious lessons about how to be a good friend.

I'm not criticising the books, by the way. I was addicted as a child and last Summer I re-read all the Malory Tower and St Clare books and loved them as much as ever.

I'm just fascinated at how well she's held up against other children's writers from the same era.

I read them feverishly as a child but I don't buy them for my own children. They really do make me uncomfortable. Without realising, I did absorb the messages in them which was easily done because they are so subliminal. Any educational benefits are far outweighed by the sexism and racism and classism.

My four year old is loving the Faraway Tree. It really stretches his imagination and the cliffhangers are brilliant! It's the what if game really isn't it? What if this could really happen? How would it pan out? Safely exploring real and unreal. Etc. Anyway, I have a query - I totally understand why Dick is now Rick and Fanny is now Frannie and Dame Slap is now Dame Snap and shouts at people rather than whacking them......but why on earth is Bess now Beth? And why are pop biscuits now pop cakes?! Just Weird.

Oh don't start me on the updates Daisy. The St Clare girls now have radios, record players and decimal currency instead of Wirelesses, gramophone players and shillings and pence

My dd's reading Malory Towers at the moment and loving them but then she is a fan of school stories, I'm reading the Chalet School books to her at the moment and she has recently read Charlotte Sometimes, plus she is dyslexic and she finds these quite easy to read.

I think her stories have longevity because they are about things that most kids really love - adventure, a tight knit gang of friends and little or no interference from adults. That's massively appealing for kids, I think. Harry Potter ticks all of those boxes too.

The Magic Faraway Tree has got to be one of the best books ever written. It is very imaginative and was my favourite book as a child. My daughter really loves it too. It is pure escapism and adventure and full of wonderful characters. Now I'm an adult I feel the same way towards it as I do towards my travels around the world.

I was a massive fan of her books when I was a child and they were just as dated to my 1980's eyes as they would be to a child reading them today. But that was the charm really, a glimpse into another world, one that was utterly foreign to me. (But even at 7 I was under no illusions as to what a patronising arse Julian was, what a passive little mouse Anne was and what an utter snob Blyton herself was.)

Unlike a lot of other children's books EB's stuff doesn't stand up to revisiting as an adult. The writing is very predictable and simplistic, nothing like the engrossing tales I remember. But I do think that if a child is showing an interest in reading they should be allowed read whatever they want. There was little I hated more than some well meaning adult telling me how rubbish Enid Blyton was when I was in the depth of that phase.