Well - here we are in a new year with a new batch of Enid Blyton Magazines. We start with this issue -
The cover shows an illustration from the first story -
A Wonderful Fancy Dress - illustrated by Anne Read - who s one of my favourite magazine illustrators. I've read this story in The Butlin Beaver Annual number 3, 1964, and its quite a nice little story, though nothing very exciting happens, except that a little girl dresses up to go to a party. One interesting aspect of the story is that 'Doreen' dresses as a 'South Seas girl' - complete with brown makeup so that she looks tanned. Given the furore in 2017 surrounding children dressing as Disney's 'Moana' and putting brown makeup on, I should think this story would not be republished these days, which is a shame, especially since Enid describes Doreen as 'a lovely dark-haired brown girl'.
Enid's first
Editorial letter of the year gives us details of Enid's New Year's resolution - the one she always makes and tries to keep - 'Be kind!' - I wonder if Enid always stuck to this...?
Once again, Enid tells us of the Christmas cards she received from children -
they are on my bookcases, on my tables, round the walls on the little shelves there that run around the room - well, in fact everywhere that I CAN stand a card! How many are there? Well, we gave up counting after 500! They come from all over the world and are the gayest collection you ever saw. Thank you, children, and thank you, too, those of you who sent little gifts and did not put in your address. Three of you, who gave no address, sent me six beautiful hankies which you had embroidered with my name, and I could see what a long time you must have spent over them - so I send a special thank you to you - and also to 'Jackie' who made me really beautiful models of Big ears and Noddy! These came from New Zealand (and arrived in good time, Jackie!)
The Tale Of Twinky surely has to be one of Enid's more intriguing titles for a short story! The story is uncollected, and has lovely illustrations by an uncredited illustrator, which is a shame. There were so many good artists who went uncredited! The story revolves around a squirrel - called Twinky - and how two children look after it when they find it almost dead in the woods.
PUZZLE PAGE -
SUNBEAMS PRIZE PUZZLE -
Can you find the names of girls and boys hidden in the following sentences?
a) He pulled the rope terribly hard.
b) He can play the banjo and the guitar.
c) This bed has a low end, you know.
FAMOUS FIVE PRIZE PUZZLE -
What am I?
Although I like to live in the sea
I lay all my eggs on the land,
Quietly at night I come ashore
And bury them deep in the sand.
A PUZZLE FOR MY BUSY BEES -
Can you find the name of a farm animal hidden in the sentence below?
"is my marrow placed fifth or second in the competition?"
A Puzzle For The Secret Seven follows, with Chapter 6 - An Afternoon of Hard Work! This chapter has another illustration that doesn't appear in the finished book version -
Unlike those in the Famous Five story, often the Secret Seven illustrations were completely different, as you can see from the illustration above. In the book, the episode is illustrated as below -
After the centre-spread of
Rumble and Chuff - as Pete mentioned above, featuring a truck full of cats and dogs - we get chapter 13 of
Five Get Into A Fix - with a super illustration that again doesn't feature in the book. Here's the book version -
But I must say, in this instance, I prefer the magazine version, which is much more lively!
This fortnight's episode features two Eileen Soper illustrations, rather than just one - and the second is one of those 'spot the difference' illustrations like in the last issue in 2017, except this time the differences are slightly more marked - not least the angle and the fact that the magazine offers us a closer-up image. Here are the two illustrations - the book version first, followed by the magazine illustration - again, I personally prefer the magazine version - and I think the blue highlighting works better than the red which was used in the book.
A book advert follows, asking readers
What to buy with your book tokens and goes on to suggest several books by well-known authors - 'To Outer Space' by Capt W.E.Johns, Five Go To Billycock Hill by Enid Blyton, Green Sailors To Gibraltar by Gilbert Hackforth-Jones, Flame Takes Control - by Eric Leyland and Drina's Dancing Year - by Jean Estoril.
Twiddle and the Very Big Dog is the next short story - and this is also sadly uncollected. Its a typical Twiddle story - very amusing - about Twiddle and a very big dog called Goliath (a Great Dane) who is VERY friendly. Of course, Twiddle gets mistaken for a little short man who always feeds the Great Dane, and gets followed by the dog and jumped up, because he's carrying a large bone which makes him smell very much as the man who feeds him usually smells! All good fun!
This issue is a lovely one - a Famous Five chapter, a Secret Seven chapter, a short story about a squirrel, a Twiddle short story, and also the cover story about Doreen dressing up! these magazines were certainly very good value for money , even though by 1958 they cost four and a half pence each!
