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[Fiona1986]

I like the cover for The Land of Far-Beyond, it reminds me of the Penguin Clothbound Classics that are out now. The other two look a bit pamphlet-like, though. I'm not sure why as they follow the same design, perhaps it's just the brighter colours but they look like cheap posters or leaflets.

[Tony Summerfield]

Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest I thought the same edition had been released twice, as a "novel" and as a "religious book", Tony — I meant that I'd just discovered that the new edition of it that we'd already been told about (which was what I meant by "re-release") was actually part of a religious/inspirational series by Hodder. Which I hadn't realised previously!

Neither did I until I saw a copy, Courtenay, and I have taken the word/s 'Life-affirming' from inside the book. I have put the books together as they don't really belong anywhere else (except of course as a 'Far Beyond' reprint), but as I said it won't be in the shops until October. Stupidly I didn't take the other two books, so I will have to add the short stories at a later stage. I do also have a Naughtiest Girl Diary to add, written by Jeanne Willis (on the cover you will be glad to hear!), but as yet I haven't figured out where to put that!!

[Tony Summerfield]

I like the cover for The Land of Far-Beyond, it reminds me of the Penguin Clothbound Classics that are out now. The other two look a bit pamphlet-like, though. I'm not sure why as they follow the same design, perhaps it's just the brighter colours but they look like cheap posters or leaflets.

They are very nice cloth-bound hardbacks, Fiona, and that picture that I have taken from Amazon doesn't really do them justice. I will probably scan the actual book which will look much better.

[Tony Summerfield]

Done!

[Eddie Muir]

Superb photos of you and Tony, Anita.

The cloth-bound hardback edition looks great, Tony.

[Courtenay]

Thanks, Tony. I'd love to see scans of the two Bible story books as well, once you have them!

That is lovely, really, I think, that some of Enid's Bible stories are still in print — I hadn't realised they were. I've only read The Children's Life of Christ, but it struck me as a beautiful, sweet, simple, heartfelt retelling of the gospels in a way that I'm sure would appeal to a range of readers, whether they're interested in matters of faith per se or just a good story with a good message (essentially, "Love one another"!). I would assume openly religious-themed books aren't the biggest and best-selling market, so I'm all the more delighted that the publishers obviously see the merits of Enid's Bible retellings and are happy to introduce new generations of young readers to them.

[Rob Houghton]

Who has illustrated the Land of Far Beyond? The style reminds me of the Pauline Baynes version, but I'm presuming it's been freshly illustrated?

I like the style of these, obviously!

[Fiona1986]

Even that looks much better in 'real' life!

[Kate Mary]

I apologise in advance for wandering a bit off thread but I've been reading the reviews of Enid's books on Amazon. Written by both children and grown-ups they are almost wholly positive. The modern trend for cartoon covers only bothers us traditionalists it seems. The reviews by adults refer to the books as classics and they are keen to get the kids/grandchildren reading the books they loved. I was surprised to see so many negative reviews for the Faraway Tree books until I read that the recent name changes and updates were roundly condemned, some even advising seeking out older copies to get the proper text.

I love the look of the new editions of The Land of Far Beyond and Bible stories, it's heartening that these titles have been reprinted. I just wish I had a child of the right age in the family to buy them for.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks for the comments on the photos!

I recently saw a girl buying the three Faraway Tree books in Waterstones and she was about to take them to the counter when she stopped and said to her mum, "Wait - is that Silky? Have I got the right book?" It turned out that one title was in a different livery. Her mum explained that the covers and illustrations were changed every so often and that one of the books was slightly older/newer (I forget which!) than the others. Her daughter was satisfied with that and said, "Oh, okay. As long as the story is the same." (Whether the girl's mother was aware of the name changes or approved of them if she did know, I've no idea of course.) Anyway, it seemed that the girl wasn't too bothered about the illustrations - only about the stories themselves.

Who has illustrated the Land of Far Beyond? The style reminds me of the Pauline Baynes version, but I'm presuming it's been freshly illustrated?

The illustrator of all three "Life-affirming" books is Sam Loman, some of whose work (non-Blyton) can be seen here:

http://www.thebrightagency.com/artists/view/408" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another artist on that website caught my eye - Mike Love:

http://www.thebrightagency.com/artists/view/291" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He seems to have done quite a lot of work for fantasy tales, classics and factual books, but looking at these pictures of landscapes, people and animals I couldn't help thinking he could do some wonderful covers and internal illustrations for the Adventure series:

http://www.thebrightagency.com/artists/ ... _id=468283" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.thebrightagency.com/artists/ ... 273&page=6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.thebrightagency.com/artists/ ... 523&page=4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.thebrightagency.com/artists/ ... 267&page=6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rob Houghton]

Thanks for the info about the illustrator, Anita. I like his style a lot, especially for books like these. He treats children as intelligent beings and doesn't 'draw down to them' which is something I have always appreciated even as a child.

Its interesting that children don't worry about the illustrations for books like The Faraway Tree...however, I think it depends on the child. Being a very 'visual' child and heavily into drawing/colouring/designing even at a very young age, I took massive notice of illustrations. I often coloured them in, copied them and made games and puizzles and comics based on them. To me, the illustrations showed me what the characters looked like and were very important, so I'm assuming many children wouldn't be as easy to please as the girl in the bookshop!

Names are another thing entirely, of course. I've heard many people complaining about the name changes, and also bemoaning the 'death' of Dame Slap. Parents/aunts/uncles etc seem to prefer the old names, and as has been said, many people seek out the older versions. I know that this is the reason that a Dean edition of a Faraway Tree book can sell for £30 + on eBay.

When a character changes its name, its disconcerting, completely wiping away any childhood memories. I don't know of any other author where this has happened. Just William being called 'Just Bradley'? Miss Marple being rechristened Miss Patel? Huckleberry Finn renamed Scott? It just doesn't happen.

[Courtenay]

Names are another thing entirely, of course. I've heard many people complaining about the name changes, and also bemoaning the 'death' of Dame Slap. Parents/aunts/uncles etc seem to prefer the old names, and as has been said, many people seek out the older versions. I know that this is the reason that a Dean edition of a Faraway Tree book can sell for £30 + on eBay.

When a character changes its name, its disconcerting, completely wiping away any childhood memories. I don't know of any other author where this has happened. Just William being called 'Just Bradley'? Miss Marple being rechristened Miss Patel? Huckleberry Finn renamed Scott? It just doesn't happen.

Don't forget, even Enid Blyton changed her name to "Tony Summerfield" and yet the fan letters still find their way to her...

More seriously, I'd agree that the name changes and other totally unnecessary tamperings with the text are far worse than covers that may not suit everyone. That's one tendency that I WOULD like to see swung back the other way, but obviously it won't be with the current publishers. But who knows — I can see no reason why they couldn't be changed back again some day, if future people at Hachette decide to think differently...

[Daisy]

More seriously, I'd agree that the name changes and other totally unnecessary tamperings with the text are far worse than covers that may not suit everyone. That's one tendency that I WOULD like to see swung back the other way, but obviously it won't be with the current publishers. But who knows — I can see no reason why they couldn't be changed back again some day, if future people at Hachette decide to think differently...

One can always dream!

[Rob Houghton]

I guess the Swallows and Amazon's character Titty might go through a name change as per the film, eventually. Maybe this has started the rot with other authors character names now.

[Moonraker]

I am pleased to hear that the 'old boy' enjoyed the film as I seem to remember that he didn't when he saw it before!

Haha! Yes, I did enjoy it more on the recent viewing. It probably helped being in the company of a six year-old who loved it! It is a shame that there isn't a 70's TV version to watch, as Five on Kirren [sic] Island was a hybrid of books one and six.