What's right about Enid Blyton?

Every teacher will tell you what's wrong with Enid Blyton books, but why are they so popular?

Why have they stood the test of time?

Why do most children seem to go through a phase where they won't read anything else.

From a bookseller`s point of view, it`s also interesting how many adults replace their lost/damaged Enid titles later in life, also that how many buy copies of `their` Enid books to give as gifts to their own children/grandchildren/nephews + nieces.

I went through the typical Enid Blyton binge in my teens but my two boys won't touch them with a barge pole. Are they mainly a girl thing?

Also, fondly as I recall them, and as much as I will never get rid of mine, I really don't know that they hold up all that well. I tried rereading some of the Adventure books recently and the spark just wasn't there anymore.

They're obviously in a different world now aren't they? But so is Harry Potter.

I'm only 25 so it doesn't feel that long ago that I read them. I don't know children nowadays, maybe they don't read them.

I remembering thinking the world that they lived in was more similar to mine because we didn't have TV or Video Games, than the worlds of the Other Children I was at school with.

I've tried re-reading them as an adult and they certainly don't hold my interest any more.

The different world thing doesn't bother me - I'm a lifetime SF/Fantasy reader, and adore Harry Potter, classic British mysteries and Georgette Heyer's Regencies. Also I still love re-reading Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons books which are more of an era with Enid Blyton.

Her books feel less "real" to me now. I don't think she's a terrible writer (certainly better IMHO than some of the junk my kids binged on - e.g. the Goosebumps series), but she is maybe too much of her era, whereas better writers like Ransome or W.O. Mitchell in Jake and the Kid or Who Has Seen the Wind transcend their time.

I had this phase of loving 'Secret Seven' and 'Famous Five' as well as Rupert Bear, 'Little Black Sambo' and lots of others. At 66 they are now only vague memories but I would guess they are, or were for a child of that era, gripping stories. I was 12 before I saw television (the Queen's coronation at my grandma's) so perhaps books were more important to that generation. Later Biggles, Billy Bunter, Just William etc.
But reverting to the original question what do teachers say is wrong with EB? And do you, woollymammoth, agree with them?

I read everything I could of Blyton from 7 to 8, sometimes several times. I was obsessed and read nothing else, so my father banned me from reading them. He thought they stunted my reading (he also banned Winne the Pooh for being 'bourgeois' and didn't let us watch trashy TV; he meant well).

Re-reading them recently, I can see why I was hooked. There are cliffhangers throughout, the plots are simple and children are the main agents, having an enviable freedom to roam the coutryside at will without adult intervention. The vocabulary is limited, characterisations are crude and the class system is painfully obvious (cooks, maids and the lower classes are all at the children's bidding). I wouldn't 'ban' a child from reading them, but the main objections to Blyton's novels I would assume are their repetitiveness, limited vocabulary and dated social realism.

There was the critism aboutt he inherent racism and sexism in the books, with the recent Noddy books not including Golliwogs.

The school books are claimed to endorse bullying.

I think this is a bit of an overeaction, I've yet to meet anyone who wasn't offended by them.

I assumed they were sitll being read by children today because new editons were in print, and I can't imagine adult readers would want to buy new editions.

I agree with what Hera says as to why the books were so popular with children of a certain (young age) - basically just gripping yarns. A little older and children grow out of them. If (and I'm not claiming to be so) I'm sexist, racist etc it's not because I picked it up from these books. Kids, including myself, were often called names such as 'Big Ears' in the playground so of course adults in the disability lobby want to ban a character of that name in the Noddy books. Personal views change as one gets older and the outlook of our society (in UK) has also developed since the late 1940s early 1950s. But still I refuse to be outraged by the books and if I had a child of the right age who liked the books and read them avidly I would be very unwilling to prevent them.

The themes on the books are interesting aren't they?

What I also find interesting is that it's the only school books where the rule of the mob of the school girls is the right one.When a girl was bullied it was their own fault.

woollym

#8

I presume you meant to say " I`ve yet to meet anyone who was offended by them." ??

Ah yes.

Sorry

woollymammoth,
Glad to hear that. I picked up the wrong message there.

I read Enid Blyton like crazy from a very young age in the UK. Sadly I don't seem as able to find them here in Canada. In English at least. However, today I was thrilled as I found the local store has them in french. Well, the Famous Five and Secret Seven at least. Not my favs, the wishing chair series and the faraway tree ones. But in time... :)

Now I just have to pass my french courses and learn to read in French and all is right with the world.

sorry but i'm only a little-older-than-Blyton-stories-age but I really liked those books! they usually left me on the end of my seat, and even boys can read them because they are action packed! (sorry but in my generation, boys DON'T read)

My mother (a teacher) disapproved very strongly of my love for Enid Blyton books. She felt that they were too moralistic in a rather heavy-handed way. She also wouldn't let me read Dr. Seuss, but I didn't mind that too much. I never liked him. But I'd often stay up late at night with a torch under the blankets reading Famous Five books!

One thing that is constantly undervalued about Enid Blyton is her vocabulary. When I was about 8 or 9 I loved the "Barney" books,,my favourite being The Rubadub Mystery. From this book alone I learnt the words "lugubrious" (the bulldog's face), "cadaverous" (Mr Marvel's face) and "stentorian" (describing Roger's shouting to his friends.

I read an article in a recent issue of "The Spectator" about BBC TV comedy programmes. The article claimed that a show such as "Fawlty Towers" could not be screened nowadays. It claimed this was not primarily because of political correctness issues but because of vocabulary. It gave several examples from that series but the only one I can remember is "rumbustious" A dumbed-down BBC regards such words as too taxing for a modern audience. I'm sure kathymoo's list (#18) would come into the same category.

There's an article in today's "Daily Telegraph" about how Blyton was "banned" from BBC because her works were regarded as having no merit.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/6573855/BBC-banned-Enid-Blyton...

I recently read the Jason Steed series and agree with Justin-Brown, the two authors are very similar, what is creepy is Mark A. Cooper was born in East Dulwich, London next door to where Enid Blyton was born, however he was born at the time of her death!
The Secret Seven / Famous Five are classics and simply written, The Jason Steed series (Prince William named Fledgling Jason Steed as his favorite novel) are also simply written. Cooper came under criticism because his books were basic, simple and written child like. His response to the interviewer "Enid Blyton books were banned from his local library because people thought the quality of the writing itself was poor. Yet she sold over 600 million copies, so if you allow me to quote Dickens, Bah Humbug to that"
Coopers' style has attracted tween readers in the thousands, many like the fast pace, action and originality.
His Jason Steed novels are good guy beats bad guy. The latest in the Jason Steed nothing titled "Jason Steed Absolutely Nothing" has silenced many critics, his portrayal of Jason Steed struggling through the Vietnamese Jungle is a work of art.
We do not see Jason Steed drinking Lemonade and eating scrumptious Pop biscuits, Jason eats Carrot cake and drinks Milk.

I doubt that Cooper is a re-incarnation of Enid Blyton but his novels are similar in style, all be it, 50 years newer and up to date. It would be great to see Cooper continue the Secret Seven series in his style, that would appeal to the tweens of today.

Enid Blyton was my number one favorite author when I was a kid, and even when I was a teenage. I used to read each of the books 10 times or more during summer holidays.

But this year, as an adult, I re-read the books and I am shocked by how Enid described the characters: good-looking people are trust-worthy, short or ugly people are crooks (and you can judge people by their attractiveness (face and body), as well as their class and their gender), girls are either too emotional or silly--they are mostly only good for washing and cleaning, boys' jobs are to give commands to girls and "protect" them. If a boy gives a command to girls, they must obey it. Anne playing "mommy" is laughable but Julian playing "daddy" is respectable. If someone speaks a foreign language, they are likely up to no good. Working-class people are less trust-worthy. I can go on. I ended up not being able to finish some of my Famous Five books because I could not stand the characters. If someone will edit the books and remove the gender, appearance, class, race, nationality stereotypes, I would be extremely grateful because then I'll be able to enjoy my favorite childhood books once more.

Regarding whether we can become sexist by reading books, I certainly think we can, and we wouldn't even realize it. Sexist people are not necessarily "evil" people who enjoy treating people unfairly -- they are simply people who grew up seeing sexist stereotypes and treatments as a "norm", and so they naturally accept those stereotypes as being true, and accept those treatments and attitude as a perfectly OK thing to do to someone. I grew up in a conservative country and treatments of women are pretty bad there compared with western countries, and the sexist attitudes from Enid's era, considered outdated in western countries, are still alive there. And many readers in my countries quite enjoyed reading about Julian's treatment of George. They seem to approve the fact that tomboys who likes to tries to challenge the gender boundary like George needs to be kept in check by Julian, and that she must obey him. All the books and TV shows in our country carry the similar stereotypical messages as in Enid's era and people are still used to them being a modern norm. Not surprisingly our country does not rank well in women's well-being, crime rate, or women's basic rights in the country's law. I admit that I used to be a bit sexist when I was a kid than I am now, again, not in the sense of treating people poorly, but in the sense of firmly holding some beliefs on things each person should or should not do (from little matters to bigger things) because of their gender.

So, what is right about Enid's writing? I would say secret passages, castles, children being able to keep secrets from grownups and snoop around at night, beautiful countryside nature, food. To me these are the reasons I love Enid's books, despite the issues in the characters.

I like Enid Byton Secret Seven and Famous Five books, I also like the Jason Steed books, my granddad who was a headmaster says they write similar, clumsy, bad grammar, and childish. maybe this is why I like them, they are easy to read, fun and you can relate to them. My favorite Jason steed book is still Fledgling book 1 as it made me cry and laugh