Category Archives: Book reviews

If you like Blyton: A Mystery for Ninepence by Phyllis Gegan

Posted on October 16, 2019 by

A Mystery for Ninepence, published 1964, is something I picked up in a charity shop because I like the spines on the Collin’s Seagull Library books. I paid a grand price of £3 for this one, and the original price … Continue reading →

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Five Get Into Trouble

Posted on October 11, 2019 by

It has been ages since my last Famous Five review. Three months, in fact! I had almost forgotten I had been doing them. But here I am with book number eight. So far only books one and two have been … Continue reading →

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My twenty-fifth Noddy book: Noddy and the Farmyard Muddle

Posted on June 22, 2019 by

Back in 2016 I reviewed my twenty-fourth Noddy book and proclaimed it my last. I wasn’t in a strop with Noddy, as irritating as he can be at times, I had come to the end of the main series. There … Continue reading →

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Enid Blyton, praise and criticism part 3: The Ultimate First Book Guide

Posted on June 19, 2019 by

The Ultimate First Book Guide claims to contain over 500 great books for 0-7s. This might be dangerous for me as I will probably see lots of things I will want to read, I really enjoy going back and reading popular children’s … Continue reading →

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Five Go off to Camp part 2

Posted on June 14, 2019 by

Last time I wrote a lot about Mr Luffy and the Andrews/Robbins family, and very little about the actual storyline or adventure. Let me remedy that now! The big adventure Now I’ve just read the book in the past week … Continue reading →

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Five Go Off to Camp

Posted on June 8, 2019 by

This is the seventh book in the series, a series which was only meant to run for six books! Children loved the Famous Five so much, however, that Blyton wrote another six. And another six. And then a final three. … Continue reading →

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Summer Term at Malory Towers by Pamela Cox

Posted on May 19, 2019 by

A couple of months ago I read and reviewed the first of Pamela Cox’s Malory Towers books, New Term at Malory Towers. I wouldn’t say I loved it, though I thought it was a decent attempt at an Enid Blyton … Continue reading →

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Five on Kirrin Island Again part 2

Posted on May 10, 2019 by

I didn’t mention the Curtons at all in part one of my review, very remiss of me! The Curtons Martin and his father are staying in a cottage belonging to the coastguard. Martin, as seen through the eyes of the … Continue reading →

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Five on Kirrin Island Again

Posted on April 27, 2019 by

This is an important book, I always think. It was where Blyton originally intended to end the series, nicely bookending the series with two Kirrin Island adventures. There is a fair amount of character development from George and we get … Continue reading →

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Short stories from Rainy Day Stories

Posted on April 24, 2019 by

Rainy Day Stories is the first of a two book series published by Evans Brothers, the second book being Happy Day Stories. Despite it having been the best weather we’ve had all year this past weekend, I chose this book … Continue reading →

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Enid Blyton, praise and criticism part 2: The Child and the Book

Posted on April 19, 2019 by

A few weeks ago I looked at what the Who’s Who of Children’s Literature had to say about Enid Blyton, and it was overwhelmingly positive. This time I want to see what The Child and the Book has to say. … Continue reading →

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The Secret Seven – Mystery of the Skull

Posted on April 12, 2019 by

Clearly I’m a glutton for punishment as I picked up a copy of the new Secret Seven book while at my nearest library for Bookbug with Brodie. That branch is closing for a while to be refurbished so I grabbed … Continue reading →

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New Term at Malory Towers by Pamela Cox

Posted on March 29, 2019 by

This is the first of Pamela Cox’s sequels to the Malory Towers books. I wrote a bit about the six new books here, and have got around to reading the first one. My initial impressions Within the first few pages … Continue reading →

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Enid Blyton, praise and criticism part 1: The Who’s Who of Children’s Literature

Posted on March 27, 2019 by

Enid Blyton’s life and writing career might seem as if it was a perfect, rosy thing. Half of that is her skill in writing. Even in her autobiography and her letters to children she would never let on that things were less … Continue reading →

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Noddy and the Case of the Hiding Pirates

Posted on March 22, 2019 by

Noddy and the Case of the Hiding Pirates is a soft cover children’s book, based on the latest TV series. It was published by Hodder in 2017, and is the second Noddy tie-in book for that series, though it is … Continue reading →

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Short stories from Enid Blyton’s Happy Story Book

Posted on March 15, 2019 by

Recently I wrote a post about Enid Blyton’s short stories with the intention of then reviewing some of the stories. Well, being short stories I thought they would be quick to do and therefore kept putting it off, the end … Continue reading →

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Five Go Off in a Caravan part 2

Posted on February 22, 2019 by

We left off on an almost literal cliffhanger at the end of my last post, with Julian and his caravan about to be pushed off the hill by Tiger Dan and Lou the acrobat. Shall we see what happens next? … Continue reading →

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Five Go Off in a Caravan

Posted on February 9, 2019 by

Five Go Off in a Caravan is the fifth Famous Five book. The Five are a well-established group now and they had their first non-Kirrin adventure in the last book, Five Go to Smuggler’s Top. This time they go off in … Continue reading →

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Five Go to Smuggler’s Top, part 2

Posted on December 15, 2018 by

In part one we saw Kirrin Cottage crushed by an ash tree and the children packed off to the mysterious Smuggler’s Top where they meet the Lenoirs and Block. The problem of Timmy Up until now Timmy has been hidden … Continue reading →

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Five Go to Smuggler’s Top

Posted on November 23, 2018 by

Here we are at book #4 in the series and, as I’ve probably said a hundred times or more, this is my absolute favourite Famous Five book. It won first place in my list of favourite Blyton books, and unsurprisingly … Continue reading →

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