Enid Blyton...what ages for which series?

[ThreeFeetTall]

My son and I have enjoyed reading the Faraway Tree Series and the Wishing Chair books at bedtime. I'd like to read him more of her books but not sure where to go next. Famous 5? Secret 7? (What's the difference?)

Or The adventure books?

I never read these as a child. My son is 7 but quite a young 7.

My dc are both bog readers and both absolute devoured the Famous Five. One of them (19 now) says Mallory Towers is her favourite series of any books ever despite reading a book a day pretty much since she was 15. She got an A at English Literacy A level and used to read Mallory Towers as a relaxing activity when she was revising.

My dc are black. That didn't seem to stop them loving EB books.

They also used to play FF adventures, probably for a good couple of years. I've an old thread somewhere about what to include in a Famous Five kit which I did end up doing and they played with for years.

I'm intrigued by @CurlewKate list of alternatives as well. Surely Enid Blyton books wouldn't have remained popular for eighty years is they were so rubbish.

Not sure if it’s true, but have heard that EB uses quite simple language but quite complex sentences, whereas other authors use Longer/bigger words in more simple sentences.
my 7 yo is enjoying the secret island series, but I am reading those aloud (& we have one on audio book). I might try ff soon.

When you can edit the works of an author, and re-publish their books using words they never wrote, it's no longer a free country. That's the equivalent of you writing me a letter and some left-wing nutcase at the Post Office opening it, crossing out the bits he doesn't like, and then putting it through my mail box.

Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl were just the start. The woke bullies were just testing the waters. Now they know they can get away with it, there will be demands to edit and re-write everything from Jane Austen to Dickens to Chaucer.

It isn't that I approve of everything Enid Blyton wrote. That's not the point. The point of free speech is that you defend the right of people to say and publish things you disapprove of. As someone once said, "I may disagree with what you say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it." Evelyn Waugh wrote vile things about the working-class, but even though all my ancestors were English working-class, I don't want a single word edited.

Have you got any recommendations yet @CurlewKate?

@YellowDots I'll come back later with some.

To be going on with-some suggestions. I have plenty more if anyone's interested!
I think one of the big appeals of Enid Blyton is that they are a series- so, in the best tradition of online shopping, here are some substitutions.
The Worst Witch, by Jill Murphy
The "Sophie" books by Dick King Smith.
The "Lone Pine" books by Malcolm Saville (might be out of print-but cheap on Abe Books)
The Terra Trilogy by Mitch Benn
The Casson Family books by Hilary McKay.
The Trebizon books by Ann Digby.
Arthur Ransome is a fabulous read-aloud. A bit dense for any but very confident readers to tackle alone. Same with Noel Stretfield. Blyton lovers usually adore her. She has the same sort of predictability but beautifully written and well rounded characters.
Some others worth trying-also as read alouds. John Masefield's A Box of Delights and The Midnight Folk. Frances Hodgeson Burnett's The Secret Garden.

My 7yo DS is loving Famous Five series of books. On book 6 of 21. I am actually loving reading a chapter or two each night before his bedtime. It's like reliving my own childhood!

@YellowDots I posted some ideas but forgot to tag you-sorry!

@TakeInIroning "It is not dross and you have clearly failed to understand literature of any type if you are unable to appreciate it because you think the author was 'questionable'."

🤣Did you notice that was the last of several points I made? Maybe not-but if you-what was it? Oh yes-"Read a little more and think a little more" you'll get better at discussion!

@CurlewKate thanks! I have ordered The Box of Delights. Lone Pine sounds great but is seemingly unavailable.
A couple of the others like Arthur Ransome and Terra series seem a little old for my child but I will keep them up my sleeve for later!

Thanks,have ordered the first of this series to try out!

@ThreeFeetTall Malcom Saville is usually available on Abe Books-I've often bought him there. I think he'll be fine with Terra as a read aloud. And he's the perfect age for The Worst Witch and Sophie!

There were several in the farm book series iirc. The "of Adventure" series is probably a year or two away and the Mystery series. Worth looking at the Sophie series and other Dick King Smith books around that age.

Thanks, I'll take a look.

Well, you're doing your best and that is to be commended.

I like your list-I've seen it in several forms on the internet. One of them even lists them in the exact running order you have given , so that's a lovely case of serendipity!

I would make an addition to your/the internet list though-Enid Blyton-you can't do better.

OP, in answer to your original question I would put the detective and adventure series in ascending order of difficulty as follows:

Secret Seven,
Five Find-Outers and Dog, Secret Island series,
Famous Five, Adventure series,
’R’ Mystery series.

My favourite at seven and my DCs clear favourites at the same age were The Five Find Outers and Dog books. None of the others ever matched up for us. Fatty and Buster forever!

Other books your DS might enjoy include Cressida Cowell’s wonderfully funny and imaginative How to Train Your Dragon series and her new series, The Wizards of Once,
Dick King-Smith’s animal stories such as The Sheep Pig and The Hodgeheg,
Roald Dahl’s books, especially Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach,
Caroline Lawrence’s Roman Mysteries - the first is The Thieves of Ostia,
Elizabeth Beresford’s The Wombles series and her Magic series,
Michael Bond’s original Paddington chapter books,
Rosemary Manning’s Green Smoke series,
Barbara Sleigh’s Carbonel series.

@TakeInIroning
"I like your list-I've seen it in several forms on the internet. One of them even lists them in the exact running order you have given , so that's a lovely case of serendipity!"

Link please! Should be easy for you if you remember it so clearly. If you're going to be gratuitously unpleasant, the least you can do is supply references!

@CatChant some there I forgot! Carbonel is wonderful- I still remember the description of the heroine walking home from school on a summer day and her sandals sticking to the hot tarmac! And of course, Paddington and Wombles.....

It's on Good Reads. as I think you know!

I love the Adventure series, I was an avid reader and my lovely Dad used to buy me every one that was published.
I still have them, and occasionally binge read them, and still enjoy them.
I so wanted a parrot like Kiki!

I grew up on Enid Blyton and still love her books for nostalgia.
Secret Seven was my introduction.

But some other great suggestions here

The Worst Witch books are great. Also How to Train Your Dragon. I horoughly recommend the audiobooks read by David Tennant.

@TakeInIroning looks as if I have to download something to look at Good Reads. Link, please.

@TakeInIroning Either provide the link or admit you're talking bullocks.

@CurlewKate where would you start with Ransome and Noel Streatfeild please? Age 7 audience. We have a couple of the Swallows and Amazons books but they look a bit old. Streatfeild I only know some adult ones and Ballet Shoes.

@Scout2016 I have read and loved a lot of Noel Streatfeild so I thought my tuppence worth might help even though I’m not the poster you were asking.

I have known a handful of modern seven-year-olds who have loved her books but they did tend to be very advanced readers for their age. So I would be more inclined to read them aloud to DC of seven. If they then grab the book to finish themselves so much the better.

Ballet Shoes is the famous one but The Growing Summer, The Circus is Coming (now published as Circus Shoes), White Boots (now published as Skating Shoes), Thursday’s Child, Apple Bough, and Tennis Shoes are all very enjoyable too.

And if you have a real Streatfeild fan there are even more children’s titles, Far to Go, When the Siren Wailed, Curtain Up (now Theatre Shoes), Wintle’s Wonders (now Dancing Shoes), Party Frock (I think this might now be published as Party Shoes) and the Gemma quartet are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

The Mary Poppins books are well worth a look too. Much more imaginative and with a far spikier heroine than the Mary of the musical.