to feel uneasy about my son reading Enid Blyton books

[frances5]

My son wants me to read him a book called the "Wishing Chair", I have read two chapters of it and it has a pixie in it called "Chinky". To make it worst the drawing of "Chinky" shows an elf like creature with slitted eyes. However I think my son is totally and utter oblivous to this.

Admitally Enid Blyton lived 50 years ago when people didn't know better. But do you think I am making a mistake letting my son enjoy this book? He is even trying to read it himself that he is so desperate to know what happens next.

When my son chose this book I had no idea that it had a pixie in it called "Chinky" other wise I would have diverted him towards something like Ronald Dahl.

And I NEVER read that as a girl, so can't be told off for being sentimental (shock horror, I am many things but never that). Oh they like the formula I think, and all the food. That's how EB draws them in, she's always going on about food.

Erm - thought the whole point of literature is that it was fun and thoughtprovoking - gosh - didn't know that I was exploring the world through other consciousnesses - that might work for some novels I guess and maybe some drama but could that ever work for poetry?

Shall we make a date for a midnight feast, 100x? Do lets! We can sneak down into the room next to the junior dorm. We'll have to be very very quiet. I'll make some jam tarts and you can bring the cake! We'll ask Cod as well in Secret Code.

I read and loved Enid Blyton as a child, at first I thought the names of some of the children were funny (Dick, Fanny etc) but then got lost in the magic of the stories. Even from a young age I understood that EB was from a different time and that her books were full of out-dated opinions/behaviours but still I loved the stories, the adventures and the magic.
I would like my children to enjoy reading a wide variety of things and don't think it is my place to say "you can't read that because it is un-PC". Surely its far better to do what my mother did and explain the differences between our time and EB's time and allow the children to just enjoy the stories for what they are - stories.

lol. I once had a hilarious night on here with Franny and Mrs Carrot and others, and we did have a midnight feast at Malory Towers. Was very very funny.

Don't think the two - entering consciousness of others, and fun and thought provoking, are in any way mutually exclusive

Hi Quattro
No need to duck, not remotely offended by your post. Unaware is a much nicer word than ignorant, which I do find offensive - it has a much harsher intention I think and I would consider myself 'unaware' in this case. You are probably right also I think, I do really enjoy these books! I so much more look forward to reading them each night than the picture books we've now moved on from with him. He does seem to genuinely love them though, always talking about 'what might happen next' etc so we both love it, which is good enough for me.

100x thanks for bumping child reading age thread. DS WILL not read at all. Bookshelves packed full. Lotsa reading time with us. Went into school to discuss this with them in the autumn term. Managed to get him into horrid henry and captain underpants but he is now 7 and 3 mths and he has read 5 books in his ENTIRE life. Not been nagging at all but am starting to worry seriously.

Quattro, can you get him to read non-fiction? And have you tried getting him to write books? I have known boys who won't read fiction who have been keener on doing both.

Oh Quatt, you're so honest but you know what everyone is going to pile in to say right now don't you?

Beano. Go for the Beano, get's them all reading, then Asterix and Tintin and then they take up books. Non fiction too for ds's. Problem is, and I say this as your friend, EB's Secret 7 is perfect for that age.

Quattrocento - my nephew, a voracious and advanced reader (a book a day, reads both English and French) at nearly nine, hated Horrid Henry and Captain Underpants but read every single EB going... . A few years ago now, of course.

Well of course 100x - knew I was setting up an open goal. Bloody school have no clue what I am worried about - they have produced some garbage statistic saying that his reading age is around 3.5 years ahead of his chronological age - which (trust me) is total tripe.

Will try HP (doubtfully) but worried it might require a bit too much in the way of effort. Will try more factual books (more cheerfully) the horrid histories might work.

QC, what is your son most interested in? My nephew (now 16) resisted reading valiantly until he discovered that the sports pages of the newspaper were full of stories about football, his absolute favourite thing. I treasure the memory of him, aged about seven, patiently sounding out match reports and stories about transfers, and only asking for help with the names.

Yes they do. I'd keep it short and sweet to be honest. Jeremy Strong? Is very silly. Mine loved him. Oh I know, ds1 loved those Greek Myth books, edited by Lucy Coates I think, short chapters, sort of stories but also reliably non-fiction too.

Actually you know what, don't worry about it. The books are there, if he wants to read one he'll pick it up. Leave them lying about the place, on the edge of his bed. He'll find something he likes and then he'll go for it. Horses and water and all that.

Football idea is stroke of genius. There must be some kind of football magazine as well ... all they talk about and play at school is football

Ah yes, there's STRIKE! Have you never seen it? Also a series of books for this age group about a football team, but I can't remember for the life of me what it's called. Someone else might know.

lol, yes Shoot not Strike.

We all read the LRB here, obviously. lol.

not read this thread but I loved Enid Blyton books and can't recall being a member of the BNP of late

books are books, some will have questionable stuff in, maybe discuss stuff with your children as they read it?

I remember reading books about mean public school girls - Malory towers iirc and thought they were fab, and I was the poor oik type they were mean about!

get a grip folks

lol totally agree with OO's get a grip sentiment.

600 posts!

I loved Enid Blyton books too, they were fab. To be honest i don't think kids take that much notice of stuff in books we consider to be bad.