Who do you prefer?

[Bertie]

Mr Goon, for the same reason as Boodi - he's not pleasant, but he's a much more interesting character and who (often inadvertently) contributes to a lot of the humour or excitement in the stories.

Mr Goon or Gladys (both FFO)?

[Boatbuilder]

Mr Goon because the books wouldn't be the same without him, despite the character he is.

Mr Goon (FFO) or Mr Plod (Noddy)

[Courtenay]

Mr Plod. He's sometimes Noddy's antagonist and sometimes his friend, but he genuinely means well and (as far as I can remember) all the times he threatens Noddy are the result of misunderstanding, not malice — he has a kind heart in reality. Whereas Goon...

Mr Plod or Big-Ears (both from Noddy, obviously)?

[Boodi 2]

Big-Ears, as he is a great friend to Noddy!

Big-Ears or the Gollys (both from Noddy)?

[dsr]

Big Ears. In spite of never being the best behaved child myself, I never really liked naughty characters in books.

Big Ears (Noddy) or Silky (Faraway Tree)?

[Anita Bensoussane]

Silky because she bakes delicious buns and biscuits.

Silky or the Saucepan Man?

[Courtenay]

Ooh, hard choice, but I'll say the Saucepan Man — I always loved his silly ways and his famous "Two" songs!

The Saucepan Man or Moon-Face?

[dsr]

Saucepan Man. I don't know why, but Moonface never really struck a chord with me.

Saucepan Man or Mr Pink-Whistle? (corrected because my inaccurate typing put Mr Oink-Whistle, which I think is just as good a name!)

[Bertie]

I don't really know either character well as I've never read the younger / fantasy stories. But, just to keep the thread going, from what I know I'll go for Mr Pink-Whistle and then, hopefully, I'll opt for a likeable enough character from the mystery / adventure series and get the thread going again in that direction...

Mr Pink-Whistle or Jack Trent (Adventure series)?

[Barnard]

I know nothing about and have no interest in Mr Pink-Whistle and so I will choose Jack Trent.

Jack Trent or Diana Lynton.

[Courtenay]

I'll take Jack, as he and Kiki are fun and adventurous, whereas Diana (Barney series) is a bit boring and conventional.

Jack Trent or Dinah Mannering (both Adventure series)?

[Bertie]

That's a lot harder than it should be, really - given that, as an animal lover, I should much prefer the bird obsessed Jack to the not fond of any animal Dinah.

However, other than his love of birds, I find Jack quite a dull character. Whereas fiery Dinah is a much more interesting character, similar to George (Kirrin). And I can understand a lot of her tempers given how the likeable but teasing Philip loves to torment her!

So for very different reasons I find it a very close call. But I'll prioritise the animal difference and go for Jack.

Jack Trent or Philip Mannering (both Adventure series)?

[Boodi 2]

I'll opt for Jack, as despite his way with animals Philip is too much of a tease for my liking!

Jack Trent (Adventure series) or Snubby (Barney/R mysteries)?

[Bertie]

I'll go for Snubby. I think he gets a bit of a hard time, really. Considering he's no parents, and thrust from one relative to another, he seems a happy, likeable boy. And although we're told all the 'mad' things he gets up to, in the stories themselves he doesn't really do much like that and mostly gets nagged at for pretty minor things.

Snubby (Barney R Mysteries) or Dick (FF)?

[dsr]

Dick (FF). I always found Snubby a bit irritating, though I admit I read the R books a lot less often than the FF.

Dick (FF) or Dirty Dick (Five on a Hike Together)?