Enid Blyton Society Publications

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've read all four of the Sunny Stories for Little Folks booklets which have just been printed and not only do they look super, with eye-catching coloured covers and plenty of internal illustrations, but they make for delightful reading and are very varied.

Tibby's Adventures is written in the first person so we see everything from the cat's perspective, just as we see things from the dog's point of view in The Adventures of Bobs. A heartwarming animal story with charming illustrations by G. B. Foyster and W. S. Foyster. Strangely, both Foysters draw the "little girl" character at different points in the story and their portrayals are completely different!

The Kite that Flew Away is a magical tale of children venturing into Fairyland and reminds me of The Enid Blyton Book of Fairies and The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies.

It's lovely to be reunited with the inhabitants of Oak Tree Town in Tales of Binkle and Flip and I particularly like the second story, in which Binkle is up to his usual tricks.

The Enchanted Wood is a moving and stirring fairytale, containing some traditional fairytale elements but very Blytonian nevertheless.

Wonderful items to add to any Blyton collection, and a bargain at only £3 each! Many thanks to Tony and to David Chambers for working so hard on them.

[shadow]

I got my other half to get these for me, for my birthday, but I "mistakingly" opened the package and have been able to read them a little early I'm trying to find a bit of quiet time to read them but I did read The Enchanted Wood. I opened it to have a little look and ended up reading the whole thing, whilst trying to cook tea. I finished the story sitting at the tea table and got told off by the kids for not interacting with others around the tea table Grown ups these days eh.

[Tony Summerfield]

Although I appreciate that not many people will look at this as the Society sections of the forums get very few views, I thought I would post a gentle reminder about the Sunny Stories for Little Folks booklets. Sales for booklets tend to dry up after the first month, but sadly these dried up after two weeks and in the last three weeks I have had no orders at all. Currently sales are in single figures and we are heading for a thumping great loss, only four forum users have bought copies. Foolishly I thought these uncollected (and virtually unobtainable) longer short stories would prove popular, so I printed the first eight, although only the first four are currently in the shop. I'm afraid that the days of Society booklets are nearing an end, as they require a considerable amount of work to produce and it is difficult to justify the cost to the Society if they are just going to make a loss.

We live in an age where people expect everything for free and sadly the poor old Journal is suffering the same fate as the booklets, the Journal 49 thread had three times as many views as the Journal 51 thread, and several of our most regular posters who received Journal 51 haven't even bothered to comment on it. Interest in the Society is dwindling and I guess this is something I am going to have to accept.

[Poppy]

I hate to hear this, Tony, as I can imagine how much work and effort goes into producing these. I have to say, however, I have not bought one of these booklets yet, but I have been thinking about buying one and still am. I will certainly have a look in the online shop sometime. I really hope things pick up though ; it would be awful to lose the journal/etc.

[Katharine]

Tony, I'm sorry that you've had such a low response. If it's any consolation, I have every intention of buying the booklets, but as I've bought a few books locally recently, haven't the funds at the moment. I'll ask my family if they'd be prepared to get them now for me and put them away for Christmas though.

[Spitfire]

I too am rather tight for money at the moment after a family wedding and holiday, but I too hope to buy some of the booklets after the next payday.

I will hold up my hands now and say that although I subscribe to the Journal I have not previously bought anything else, such as booklets, from the Society, but this is something I intend to change. When I first subscribed, all I really had was a love for Enid Blyton books and many happy childhood memories of losing myself in her books. Since then, various discussions on the forums both about her and her books, the information contained about Enid on this website and, most particularly of all, the Journals themselves have given me a far deeper appreciation and interest in both her work and Enid herself; an interest which is slowly growing and becoming stronger.

Somebody commented recently that the depth of information and material collated by Tony and contained in the Cave which is generously accessible to everybody, is second-to-none in terms of information available to the public about a favourite author, and this is certainly true by my observation.

Though I pretty much sit back and reap the rewards of Tony's hard work, I still feel proud to be a member of the Enid Blyton Society. I hate the thought that the Journal is probably going to suffer and that booklets of 'uncollected and virtually unobtainable' stories will become unavailable.

There's only one thing I can do - put my money where my mouth is and support the Society in every small way I can.

After all, it is an investment!

[Lucky Star]

Oops. I haad fully intended buying these and just plain forgot after my recent trip to Ireland. I will also plead that I am up to my ears in work at the moment and have not even been posting that much. I have just amended the situation and bought the four that are in the shop. Looking forward to receiving them.

I'm afraid I have no solution to the problem of people not buying stuff. It seems to be a widespread problem at the moment; a childrens bookshop near me which operated for 30 or 40 years has just closed down due to competition from Amazon etc. Tony is right; people want cheap, cheap, cheap these days. Hopefully the journal will survive at least.

[Kate Mary]

I am saddened by Tony's post, all of the Society booklets are a joy to own and I am very pleased with my set of Sunny Stories for Little Folk and am looking forward to the next four. What a shame if no more of the Society publications are reprinted. And if we eventually lose the Journal!....it doesn't bear thinking about.

Kate.

[Wolfgang]

I wouldn't be happy if this happened, but if there is no market any longer we'll have to accept reality.
The journal might be easier to get even if the number of pages was reduced to the amount it had several years ago, but it's a pity that the stories in the secret passage don't attract more permanent subscribers.

[Eddie Muir]

I am saddened by Tony's post, all of the Society booklets are a joy to own and I am very pleased with my set of Sunny Stories for Little Folk and am looking forward to the next four. What a shame if no more of the Society publications are reprinted. And if we eventually lose the Journal!....it doesn't bear thinking about.
Kate.

Like Kate, I'm also saddened by your post, Tony. I too am very pleased with my set of four Sunny Stories for Little Folk. It is obvious that you have put a lot of time and effort into producing them and they are a joy to behold and excellent value at £3.18 each (which includes the cost of postage). So come on forumites, get your oder in the post to Tony today. I'm also looking forward to the next four. When will they be available, Tony?

[Wayne Pyer]

I too am one of the guilty ones yet to buy these publications, so apologies. I will get around to it once the kids school uniforms are sorted.
I also am yet to comment on the Journal. This is because I am due to have major surgery shortly and was saving the reading of it to aid my recovery. Sadly, the op was postponed so i'm waiting for a new date. I will get around to it Tony. Your efforts are very appreciated, even if we don't say it as often as we should.

[Julie2owlsdene]

I too will get around the ordering at somepoint, as I love to collect the Society's booklets, as I have a few already.

Let us know how you get on Wayne.

[Carlotta King]

I'm yet another guilty party who hasn't been able to purchase anything yet. Sorry.
I do fully intend to though, when funds allow.

I think Wayne summed it up very well when he said that we all love all the work you do and love the society, even though we don't say it as much as we should!
Just because it isn't spoken, doesn't mean it isn't felt.

Ps good luck Wayne, hope it all goes well, you'll really enjoy the journal afterwards!

[Tony Summerfield]

Thanks for all the kind remarks. I wasn't trying to be a profit of doom about the Society booklets, I was simply giving a realistic assessment of the current situation.

You are quite right about the Journal, Wolfgang, that isn't in any imminent danger as I can simply reduce the print run with each issue which will continue to make it financially viable. I was just slow to learn my lesson on this, and as I posted elsewhere I am stuck with over 50 copies of some recent back issues, whilst in past times much larger print runs sold out completely as you can see in the Society shop. I am now printing 150 fewer copies than I was three years ago! The shop has almost as much dust in it as my house as it gets very little use. The last time I sold a Journal back issue to a new subscriber was three months ago, and that was only one copy. The only thing that has sold well recently is the Beckenham DVD, which I am selling on behalf of the film makers, so it is no benefit to the Society at all.

I have actually had more people recently trying to buy from the Cave of Books! Usually the enquiries are from people who are annoyed with me as I have failed to give the price and condition of rare books! I am sure that all our regulars are aware that the Cave of Books is simply a reference section and not a shop.

[Carlotta King]

Cor, imagine if things in the Cave were for sale!!!?

I would guess that most people would realise that nothing in there was for sale, as nowhere does it quote prices or mention anything about purchasing, but I guess you can't speak for everyone hehe