A New Year, a new-ish tradition for The Indipendent’s Books section. This week, Megan writes about the five books that managed to make a lasting impression on her in ways no other books did. Intrigued? Read on, good friends…
The Famous Five // Enid Blyton
Take me back a few years and I can remember being the only person in my class allowed to read from the Year 4 bookcase. And what an honour it was. Whilst my Year 2 class were still being forced to read The Magic Key I was enjoying the liberties of whatever book I wished to read.
Firstly, we have Enid Blyton. I struggled to pick one book. I finally decided on The Famous Five Go To Smuggler’s Cove, my personal favourite of the series with the pink backed book. The Famous Five books were what kick started my love for reading, and as a 7 year old I got through all 21 Famous Five books within the month. (Throwback to when my mum used to buy me books). So, in a world where ginger beer and lashings of eggs were the children’s staple diet, we meet my favourite characters: George, Anne, Dick, Julian, and of course you can’t forget Timmy the dog! At the time these four kids and the dog had everything I wanted. They had excitement, they had adventure, they had freedom and they had a boat and an island. Where was my boat and island? Whether they’re outwitting smugglers or finding hidden treasure the Fives always find it out in the end, alongside friends such as Jo the gypsy girl, Tinker, and my personal favourite, Sniffer. Seven year old me couldn’t get enough of their adventures, and the fact that 70 years from being written on the books are still treasured and read is a magical thing.