Question about Famous Five Annual 1979

[burlingtonbertram]

FIVE GO TO SMUGGLERS TOP

Does anybody know if the annual has the full text from the novel?

Many thanks

[Anita Bensoussane]

The 1979 Smuggler's Top Annual doesn't have quite the full text because the story is told partly in text and partly in picture-strip, but I don't think any elements have been taken out. The illustrations aren't bad at all and there are related articles too, some of which feature photos of the Famous Five from the 1970s TV series. There are animal and bird quizzes, instructions on how to make a telescopic periscope, and articles on beach-combing, sea birds, caves, lighthouses, Morse code, freak weather, rats, dogs, smugglers and surnames. A fun, interesting and "meaty" annual.

[burlingtonbertram]

Thank you; think I will buy a copy then.

[Rob Houghton]

I loved the Famous Five annuals and Smugglers Top was the first one I had, aged about 8 - for my birthday. I now have the complete set, and they are well worth having - not a replacement for the originals, but complementary - and I actually think the illustrations are great!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I think you'll enjoy the annual, BurlingtonBertram. I seem to remember you saying that you had one of the other 1970s/80s Famous Five annuals as a child and they're all quite similar in format. There are nine altogether, though the last one (Five Go Down to the Sea) isn't as good as the others - it's noticeably thinner and not as jam-packed with articles or quizzes.

Seven Secret Seven annuals were published around the same time and they're also a good read.

The annuals were illustrated by a variety of artists and some of the drawings are very attractive.

[Poppy]

The 70s Famous Five Annuals are really enjoyable interpretations of the FF stories. They are accurate to the original text in the plain text Chapters of the story, but as Anita said, there are chapters which have been converted into comic strip format. There is plenty of fun projects and puzzles in between the actual stories, too. I don't actually have the Smugglers Tops Annual, but I do regularly enjoy Adventuring Again, Mystery Moor, and Mystery to Solve, not to mention the bumper collections of annuals, which are lovely volumes, if you ever see them, including photos, etc, from the 70s TV series.

[burlingtonbertram]

Thanks everyone. I can bear the odd bit of comic-strip; I enjoyed the other 70's annual that I bought. So, I've just ordered this one from E-Bay. Ta again.