AIBU - or are the Faraway Tree books utterly insane?

[BaleOfHay]

I've started reading these to DD5 at bedtime and they are making my head hurt. I'm all for a bit of magic (we've just finished the Worst Witch) and I loved Enid Blyton a a child (Famous 5) but the Faraway Tree makes me want to scream and throw it out of the window. Is it just me?

DD fell in love with the books on her Yoto (read by Kate Winslet). She then wanted the real books and we've been reading them at bedtime. I feel like these are less problematic than some of EB's other books and they have some wonderful vocabulary in them. DD has developed a good line in vintage phrases.

They are a bit of An acid trip but in a good way. Ive actually just started FT with my DC. I think blyton has a way of transporting children from a mundane life into a magical yet believable adventure.

I think the 90s version was the best as i cant get on board with rick and franny

You are so unreasonable - these books are absolutely wonderful. I adored them and my 5 year old loves them too. Pure magic.

Bonkers but I loved them as a child, 35 years ago! They are of their time. Would love to visit the Land of Take What You Want.

Oh bore off. How is it “woke” to point out that some stuff in the old days was actually a bit weird or shit?! And it’s fine not to like those things nowadays for that reason.

Maybe instead of misappropriating a word take a second to learn its meaning instead and then maybe you won’t look so ignorant.

They are slightly cuckoo but children seem to like them. If you want less foolish magic try E. Nesbit - far superior.

If you want less foolish magic try E. Nesbit - far superior

Not really for 5/6 year olds though.

The Faraway Tree is for very young readers, first getting to grips with chapter books.

Read them all last year when my son was 5 and we loved them! Didn't think they were particularly odd at all!

Actually i know the orginal meaning of the word Woke, and where it comes with long issues of race relations in America ect@Thementalloadisreal as its connected to my family heritage ethnicity...

I just wish 🤞 it wasn't used for allmost everything as its orginal meaning gets seriously undermined and diluted then....

Oh I used to LOVE the Faraway Tree!
Always wanted to climb the tree up to the top to see what land was up there 😍
Knowing my luck it would be Dame Slap's Land though
Followed by a Toffee Shock biscuit and a ride down Moonface's Slippery Slip to get home!

This Enid Blyton story reminds me of The mighty Boosh tv series,

In its surrealism like acid 🤪 trip...

There was even a moon (face) in the mighty boosh, that was my favourite bit.

So why did you choose to use it in your comment, in response to my post that some things from the “good old days” are a bit weird and not nice. I didn’t say anything related to race discrimination, or similar.
I completely agree that is it over used and losing its original meaning .

It was / is quite hard to tell whether your comment on wokeism was a response to my comment specifically or whether you generally think people should or shouldn’t be calling out critics of Enid Blyton books as “woke”.