Enid's longest book?/Award Books

[Anita Bensoussane]

I wonder who told Award they could change the title!!

And what was the point?! It's not much different to the original title!

Edit: Having just looked at the book on the website, I see that another omnibus book on offer is Adventures of the Six Cousins and that the front cover shows the cousins in the hermit's cave. The impression given is that the Six Cousins books are adventure stories - rather misleading!

Anita

[Tony Summerfield]

I haven't seen the Six Cousins book, but I believe there is also a third title in it that has nothing to do with the Six Cousins at all!!

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

There's a limit to the number of "Health Warning" type signs a hapless bookseller can put up and still actually sell anything...

The Six Cousins is just the two volumes

Viv

[Anita Bensoussane]

I once saw a 2-in-1 paperback edition of the Six Cousins books which went by the title Animal Stories!

Anita

[Boodi]

I have that 2-in-1 paperback edition of the Six Cousins books. It was published by Parragon Book Service Limited in 1995, the first edition being published in 1992. As you say, it is entitled "Enid Blyton Animal stories" and on the cover is an illustration of the Christmas Dinner as described in "Six Cousins Again".

[Philip Mannering]

Edit: Having just looked at the book on the website, I see that another omnibus book on offer is Adventures of the Six Cousins and that the front cover shows the cousins in the hermit's cave. The impression given is that the Six Cousins books are adventure stories - rather misleading!

Anita

I have this edition. I didn't much like it for various reasons. Firstly, the cover. Secondly, the illustrations. And thirdly, as you mentioned, the impression is given by the title that it is similar to Famous Five and such - while it is not! It's a family book!

Also, in the section "Mystery and Adventure" (this section is also in the last pages of any Award book) The Six Bad Boys is there! Plus, House-at-the-Corner, The Family at Red-Roofs, The Children at Green Meadows and The Put-Em-Rights are there! Are they "mystery and adventure" books!? I think not!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Pity Award don't categorise their Enid Blyton books more efficiently, and that they're not more flexible when it comes to selling books in small quantities. It's also a pity that the text has been updated in places. However, Award have to be applauded for producing durable, reasonably-priced and fairly attractive (for the most part) hardback editions of Enid Blyton books, and for keeping a wide range of titles in print.

Anita

[Tony Summerfield]

I was wondering if the new editions of the Secret Series are in fact going to be hardbacks - they are advertised in the new catalogue as having 'foil' covers (as indeed are the three books in the Lost Necklace series). I am not quite sure what this will mean. At present the only paperbacks that I am aware of are the Barney series, and amusingly they are more expensive than Award hardbacks!

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

At present the only paperbacks that I am aware of are the Barney series, and amusingly they are more expensive than Award hardbacks!

Confusingly I'd say.

I often show a customer a hb copy of the Secret Island, and they then ask if I have a pb. When I ask why, they cite cost.

They are amazed when I explain that the hb is cheaper than a pb Famous Five!

Award would help themselves if there was a peelable sticker on the front with the price. But the problem is that they print a high price on the back, which is then sold at 50% off....

Since other people this week have promoted WH Smith, Waterstones, and the Book People, I'd like to point out that the Ginger Pop Shop currently has boxed sets of Blyton's Secret Series, in hb foiled covers, for £12.50

Viv

[Moonraker]

Talking of Val Biro, I thought this might be of interest.



This was taken at a local school around twenty years ago. Thanks to Jane's dressmaking skills, Simon and Matthew both won first prizes in their years. Matthew is far left as Worzel Gummidge and Simon, 4th from the left (behind the boy in the red hat) and below as Wee Willy Winkie. Val can be seen at the right!

[Tony Summerfield]

Great piccies, Nigel - but I am sure I have seen them before in another thread.

I am now even more confused on these new Secret editions, as I have just added them to the reprints in the Cave, and apparently they were published in November last year. I guess I can be forgiven for missing them as they are not stocked by any 'proper' bookshop.

[Moonraker]

I found THIS, but didn't realise I'd posted the pictures before. Anything's possible with my memory though!

[Julie2owlsdene]

Very interesting reading this thread. I also googled Val Biro and had a look at his work and some info on him. Excellent work.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I am now even more confused on these new Secret editions, as I have just added them to the reprints in the Cave, and apparently they were published in November last year.

Thanks for adding them. I see that the pictures are more or less the same as on the 2002 covers, but with a few minor changes - mainly sharpening details and brightening (or in some cases changing) colours. I've said before that I didn't like what Peggy was wearing on the 2002 cover of The Secret Island, as it looked as if she had a purple satin cloak flung over her shoulders. Obviously I'm not the only one who thought that, as things have been slightly altered on the 2007 cover and she's now wearing a purple jumper.

Anita

[Philip Mannering]

Pity Award don't categorise their Enid Blyton books more efficiently, and that they're not more flexible when it comes to selling books in small quantities. It's also a pity that the text has been updated in places. However, Award have to be applauded for producing durable, reasonably-priced and fairly attractive (for the most part) hardback editions of Enid Blyton books, and for keeping a wide range of titles in print.

Anita

Award is the only publisher who publishes these books nowadays with illustrations. All the rest (Hodder, Macmillan, etc.) seem to have abandoned doing so. But while some of Award's new illustrations for the books are below average, some are also good. The person who illustrated the Barney paperbacks did a decent job I think. While the Six Cousins' illustrations are quite below average, we can do nothing about that. At least they have the illustrations.

I know what you mean by "reasonably-priced", but in some places this isn't correct. For example, the Young Adventurers series cost more than Famous Five! Even the Adventurous Four (very slim books) cost more here!