This is interesting to read. While nowhere near as long, I was in a bookshop the other day trying to figure out how many words there would be in a Noddy book and guesstimated about 5,200 words. Any ideas?Philip Mannering wrote:Word Count:
1. Famous Five = 45,000 words or so.
2. Five Find-Outers = 40,000 words or so.
3. Adventure = 60,000 words or so.
4. Barney = 55,000 words or so.
5. Secret = 45,000 words or so.
6. Malory Towers = 45,000 words or so.
I do not own any Noddy books, David, (never read one in my life, they're for kids!) so I don't have any idea about how long they would be. However, I do think they should be very small -- for the age group. There must be many Noddy fans here (Noddy books are best-sellers of Blyton!RainbowJude wrote:This is interesting to read. While nowhere near as long, I was in a bookshop the other day trying to figure out how many words there would be in a Noddy book and guesstimated about 5,200 words. Any ideas?Philip Mannering wrote:Word Count:
1. Famous Five = 45,000 words or so.
2. Five Find-Outers = 40,000 words or so.
3. Adventure = 60,000 words or so.
4. Barney = 55,000 words or so.
5. Secret = 45,000 words or so.
6. Malory Towers = 45,000 words or so.
Later days
David
) so you can ask them. I think they should know. RainbowJude wrote:This is interesting to read. While nowhere near as long, I was in a bookshop the other day trying to figure out how many words there would be in a Noddy book and guesstimated about 5,200 words. Any ideas?
The Noddy series is super; I think you've missed out!Philip Mannering wrote:I do not own any Noddy books, David, (never read one in my life, they're for kids!) so I don't have any idea about how long they would be. However, I do think they should be very small -- for the age group. There must be many Noddy fans here (Noddy books are best-sellers of Blyton!
If you take a Noddy book in your hand and count how many words there are in a page, you can count it yourself! Just multiply the number of pages and the number of words in a page! That should reveal an approximate count.
RainbowJude wrote:
The Noddy series is super; I think you've missed out!
I guess the Noddy series to be for the 2-6 age group, and I'm 12. However, one day maybe I'll pick up a Noddy book, and thank you! 
Yes, it's annoying when the books have illustrations! Just the other day I was trying to figure out how many words there are in The BFG by Roald Dahl, but there were illustrations in every page of varying size: this really made counting difficult!RainbowJude wrote: A brief manual count is how I did my guestimate, but it's hard to work it out because of the number of inline illustrations, which break up the text in widely differing ways. I also had to try and work it out in the shops as all my Noddys are in another town at the moment. But I'll keep my ear to the ground and when I get back to my collection in December, I'll do a bit more specific counting if I haven't found out before then.
Later days
David
RainbowJude wrote:The Noddy series is super; I think you've missed out!
Philip Mannering wrote:Difference of opinion, David.
All right; I will read a Noddy book when I feel like it (this means when I don't have any other book). Interesting to hear that you are 30 -- and still enjoying them!RainbowJude wrote:RainbowJude wrote:The Noddy series is super; I think you've missed out!Philip Mannering wrote:Difference of opinion, David.
I'm 30 and I still enjoy them! At any rate, you'll probably right to skip them for now and perhaps they will come to mean something to you later in life!
Later days
David
Philip Mannering wrote:Yes, it's annoying when the books have illustrations!
Philip Mannering wrote:Yes, it's annoying when the books have illustrations!
This is true, and so much of the charm of the Noddy books is in the illustrations. (Of course, the illustrations are an impediment to the goal at hand, which is what I assumed Philip Mannering meant.)Ming wrote:Heresy! How would be know how dear Noddy looked like without Beek's illustrations...
I did not mean this: I meant that it is annoying when we try to count how many words there are in a page! I agree, the illustrations do help the series. (I don't know much though; all my Blytons are modern paperbacks without illustrationsMing wrote:Philip Mannering wrote:Yes, it's annoying when the books have illustrations!
Heresy! How would be know how dear Noddy looked like without Beek's illustrations, the Adventure series would lose half their charm without Stuart Tresilian's line drawings!
.) I have not seen Beek's illustrations; but I have seen Stuart Tresilian's illustrations in this website. Very good! It's a shame that nowadays publishers are publishing these books without illustrations. Methinks that a facsimile (if sold with right cost) would be a great thing to have, as the older editions are not available anywhere where I live; online they are much too expensive.
"Heresy" is a belief or opinion which is at variance with the established belief or opinion. It's often used in a religious context and it's pronounced something like "HERRA-see."Philip Mannering wrote:By the way, what's the word "heresy"? When I pronounced it, it sounded distinctly such as "Here-sigh"!
Tony is gradually adding Noddy illustrations to the Cave of Books. Hurrah for Little Noddy is one which was illustrated by Beek. The internal illustrations can be seen by clicking on the link beneath the review:Philip Mannering wrote:I have not seen Beek's illustrations...
My little friend knew exactly what you meant Phil! She has, however, shown how a remark taken out of context can give a very different meaning - something at which the British Press is very adept.Philip Mannering wrote:I did not mean this: I meant that it is annoying when we try to count how many words there are in a page!Ming wrote:Heresy! How would be know how dear Noddy looked like without Beek's illustrations, the Adventure series would lose half their charm without Stuart Tresilian's line drawings!Philip Mannering wrote:Yes, it's annoying when the books have illustrations!
English pronounciation! How could a word, written as "here", pronounced as "HERRA"? I admit I made a mistake in pronouncing "sy" as "sigh", I should've known it would be "see". But "here" as "HERRA"? Hmm.Anita Bensoussane wrote:"Heresy" is a belief or opinion which is at variance with the established belief or opinion. It's often used in a religious context and it's pronounced something like "HERRA-see."Philip Mannering wrote:By the way, what's the word "heresy"? When I pronounced it, it sounded distinctly such as "Here-sigh"!
You can always continue to pronounce the word in a heretical way if you like!Philip Mannering wrote:English pronounciation! How could a word, written as "here", pronounced as "HERRA"? I admit I made a mistake in pronouncing "sy" as "sigh", I should've known it would be "see". But "here" as "HERRA"? Hmm.
Not quite sure why I've only just seen this thread - this is fascinating! They seemed so much longer in childhood, didn't they? I wonder if their word count has helped to keep them in print, because since the 1980s books of around 40-45,000 have been pretty standard for children (obviously excluding Harry Potter). It might help to explain why, from a publishing/costs perspective, the Famous Fives, Secret Sevens, Five Find-Outers and the school stories have remained in print while the Adventure and Barney ones have disappeared.Philip Mannering wrote:Word Count:
1. Famous Five = 45,000 words or so.
2. Five Find-Outers = 40,000 words or so.
3. Adventure = 60,000 words or so.
4. Barney = 55,000 words or so.
5. Secret = 45,000 words or so.
6. Malory Towers = 45,000 words or so.
I think he meant the 'Secret' series (Secret Island, Secret of Spiggy holes, etc, rather than the Secret Seven.lizarfau wrote:Not quite sure why I've only just seen this thread - this is fascinating! They seemed so much longer in childhood, didn't they? I wonder if their word count has helped to keep them in print, because since the 1980s books of around 40-45,000 have been pretty standard for children (obviously excluding Harry Potter). It might help to explain why, from a publishing/costs perspective, the Famous Fives, Secret Sevens, Five Find-Outers and the school stories have remained in print while the Adventure and Barney ones have disappeared.Philip Mannering wrote:Word Count:
1. Famous Five = 45,000 words or so.
2. Five Find-Outers = 40,000 words or so.
3. Adventure = 60,000 words or so.
4. Barney = 55,000 words or so.
5. Secret = 45,000 words or so.
6. Malory Towers = 45,000 words or so.
Who'd have thought the Secret Sevens were longer than FFOs? They felt so much slighter!
Liz
