Your Top 3 Famous Five Books?

[Boatbuilder]

The three that are probably my favourites are:

1. Five go to Smugglers Top
2. Five get into Trouble
3. Five go off to Camp.

A close fourth would have to be Five get into a Fix, probably because that was the last Christmas present my grandmother, the only grandparent I ever knew, bought me.

[Bertie]

The three that are probably my favourites are:

1. Five go to Smugglers Top
2. Five get into Trouble
3. Five go off to Camp.

A close fourth would have to be Five get into a Fix, probably because that was the last Christmas present my grandmother, the only grandparent I ever knew, bought me.

That was very nearly my top 3!
In the end, I went with Run Away Together instead of Go Off To Camp - even though I probably do just about prefer the latter - as I wanted to include one of the Kirrin, and Kirrin Island, based books as I do love those so much.

[Boodi 2]

I'm afraid I always seem to be different, as my favourites are: "Five Run Away Together" (I love how Julian deals with Pa Stick!), followed closely by "Five Go to Smuggler's Top". After that I find it difficult to choose, but the main contenders are "Five Go Down to the Sea", "Five Go To Mystery Moor" and "Five Have A Mystery To Solve" (although the story line is somewhat weaker I really like the description of Whispering Island).

[Debbie]

My favourites would be:
1. Five run away together: I love the making the home in the cave and I'd agree with Julian's comments to Pa Stick.
2. Five go off in a caravan: Partially because we had the cover from the 70s TV series and I really wanted a caravan like those.
3. Five get into trouble: It's really quite sinister with the kidnapping Dick and trapping the children, but it's nice with Richard being brave at the end.

If I had to put a 4th choice I think it would have to be Five on a Hike Together, partially because there's a nice section which is just Anne and Dick who tend to be used less, but also because the setting is so good. "Tall trees, Gloomy Water, Saucy Jane and Maggie knows". (or something like that)

[Wolfgang]

My favourites would be for the time being:
1: Five on a hike together
2: Five get into trouble
3: Five run away together

[Irene Malory Towers]

Interesting the choices - I don't like Five Get Into a Fix - at all - I consider a very poor story and Julian nearly sabotages it as well. In fact like most of her series they tail off considerably at the end and the last good one for me is Mystery Moor. I have no trouble in picking my top 3. They have always been :
Five go to Smugglers Top - it has so many features of a good adventure - tunnels, scary villains, mist, castle, Timmy coming to the rescue and I remember being genuinely fooled that Mr Lenoir was a goody (somewhat milk and water goodie though_
Five Get Into Trouble - so many reasons and they have been outlined before - Julian excels himself here.
Five go on a Hike Together - it feels different to the others - and that may be because Dick and Anne play key parts at the start.

[Anita Bensoussane]

1. Five Fall Into Adventure - a thrilling story with some memorable scenes such as Jo and Dick spitting damson stones on the beach and the children playing Snap for dear life at a lighted window, with "Simple Sid" the paper-boy.

2. Five Go to Smuggler's Top - a mysterious book with an unsettling atmosphere. Block is a wonderfully sinister villain, as others have said, and I love the misty marshes and the old smugglers' town riddled with secret passages. To some extent, I'm on the side of the baddies. Like Mr. Barling, I feel saddened at the thought of the marshes being drained so that houses can be built on the land - not because I agree with smuggling, but because it would alter the nature of the area, and its wildlife, forever. And how can Sooty's family bear to sell an exciting house like Smuggler's Top?! I sympathise with Julian when he says: "I think it's a lovely place, set on a hill-top like this, with mists at its foot, and secret ways all about it. I'll be sorry never to come here again, if you leave." You're forgetting one thing, though, Julian - it'll soon have rows of bungalows at its foot!

3. Five on a Hike Together - a tightly-plotted story in which the Five solve an intriguing puzzle - "Two-Trees. Gloomy Water. Saucy Jane. Maggie knows." Great stuff!

Those were my choices back in June 2005 and I'd still pick the same three titles today, for the same reasons.

Five Go Off in a Caravan would come a very close fourth. Like you, Debbie, I had the Knight paperback with the TV cover as a child (I still have it!) and loved the photo of the children and Timmy in front of the caravans. It's a cracking story, starting off dreamy and idyllic with the caravans trundling through the countryside but then turning into a hair-raising adventure brimming with danger and excitement. Nobby is very likeable and is one of my favourite supporting characters from the series - as is Pongo!

Five Run Away Together would probably come fifth. Julian shines in this book, taking charge and cheering poor George up no end. I agree with Boodi and Debbie that the way he deals with Pa Stick is masterful. However, I can't help wishing that George and the others had shown some kindness to Tinker. It's not his fault that he belongs to the Sticks!

[timv]

Finding my top three as opposed to four or five of the FF series tends to vary from time to time, as different books have different strengths and if I suddenly remember some detail or plot/ character detail that I'd forgotten it will make me warm towards that particular book again. But I would consistently put Smugglers Top in the first three, because of its striking setting and atmosphere - I'd have loved to own a house like Smugglers Top myself and I certainly wouldn't have sold it! The secret passages, the signalling , and the menacing Block, hot-tempered Dr Lenoir (will he discover Timmy and take it out on George or not, and is he the villain?), and devious and somehow romantic Mr Barling are all very well-crafted characters, so it is more than just Our Heroes/ Heroines vs a group of thuggish and somehow interchangeable baddies. The latter issue lets books like Mystery Moor down a bit despite its brilliant atmosphere .

The other two best books I would select are Get Into Trouble, again largely on account of the mixture of the setting and the genuine air of mystery and menace - and Julian shows his worth and runs risks in standing up to the violent Rooky and trying to outwit the tricky and lying 'master-criminal' Mr Perton. Richard also faces a character test under stress and shows that he is more than just a spoilt brat by his hiding in the car boot and getting help despite his fears. The third top book varies for me, but if a choice is to be made at the moment I would say Hike Together where we see Anne and Dick on their own and there's a genuinely intriguing mystery treasure hunt and a thrilling climax. Betty Maxey's up to date 1970s illustrations were also a part of my fondness for the book when I first read the Knight edition; when I read the series I tended to see the Five in terms of a late 1960s-early 1970s background due to BM, though the first books I read had Eileen Soper illustrations. The text references to blazers etc worn in the holidays struck me as a bit odd at the time, until I knew a bit more about 1950s fashions!

That said, I have always placed Go Down To The Sea and Fall Into Adventure near the top too; notably most of my favourites are from the 'middle period' when Enid had got into her stride in the series, Smugglers Top excepted.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Five Go Down to the Sea disappointed me as a child because I came to it with the wrong expectations, thinking it would be more "seasidey" rather than being dominated by farm life. The drug smuggling theme is unusual, however, and The Barnies give the reader a glimpse of old-style country entertainment, so I'll approach the book with fresh eyes on my next read (I think I've only re-read it once as an adult and that was quite some time ago!)

[Judith Crabb]

As I pointed out not long ago Smugglers Top is in my top five, sometimes in the top three. I did not own a copy as a child (borrowed it from a friend) so I did not re-read it as often as the ones on my shelf.
In the early 1980s I thought I might like to be a school librarian and although I finished the diploma I never used it as such jobs are rare indeed. Well, it was useful in other ways of course.
The sole Enid Blyton title on the extensive reading list was Smugglers Top. It was there to show us how trite, impoverished, demeaning and otherwise unsatisfactory her books were in comparison with 'good' books for children!

[dsr]

I always liked "Secret Trail" and "Finniston Farm", neither of which generally get high ratings. Both have twins in them, which may be the reason. I was always a sucker for twins books.

"Smugglers Top" would have to be number 1, I think.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I always wondered what it would be like to have a twin, but the Secret Trail and Finniston Farm twins aren't my favourites. We don't get to know Guy and Harry properly because their twinship is used primarily to add a layer of intrigue to the plot, while the Finniston Farm twins, Harry and Harriet, are somewhat unnerving with their habit of speaking in unison.

In the early 1980s I thought I might like to be a school librarian and although I finished the diploma I never used it as such jobs are rare indeed. Well, it was useful in other ways of course.
The sole Enid Blyton title on the extensive reading list was Smugglers Top. It was there to show us how trite, impoverished, demeaning and otherwise unsatisfactory her books were in comparison with 'good' books for children!

It's terrible that Enid Blyton was so maligned. However, another forty years have passed since then and Five Go to Smuggler's Top is still in print and selling well. I wonder how many of the 'good' books by other authors are still available to buy and widely read!

[Moonraker]

while the Finniston Farm twins, Harry and Harriet, are somewhat unnerving with their habit of speaking in unison.

They remind me of the twins in Watch With Mother's The Woodentops -Willy and Jenny, who always spoke, "Both together!"

[Anita Bensoussane]

I have a Woodentops book but I've never seen them on television.

[Boatbuilder]

Treat yourself, Anita.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAY_NQ_B2Do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz--o26B1vY