What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

[Anita Bensoussane]

I like the sound of Noah's Ark Town!

Beek died in 1953, sadly, so other illustrators were then used for the Noddy books - though they tended to stick closely to Beek's style. One well-known character who didn't appear until after Beek's death is Tessie Bear. She comes into the main series of Noddy books in Noddy Gets Into Trouble (book number 8, 1954) so it must have been Mary Brooks who first drew her (unless Tessie had already made an appearance in one of the big or mini Noddy books that Beek illustrated).

[Boodi 2]

As a very small child I adored my Noddy books...probably due to Beek's illustrations. I also wanted a car like Noddy's!!! However, I now cannot really recall much about the actual stories...perhaps I should start reading them again?

[Stephen]

Oh goodness, I sounded quite flippant earlier, I didn't realise Beek had actually passed away! But although I didn't particularly care for Noddy at the time, the illustrations were utterly iconic, and looking back from an adult perspective the whole thing seems great fun. A land of toys, and the main character gets to drive around in a brightly coloured car. It's almost as if Enid Blyton created the perfect setting for pre-school television DECADES ahead of time!

As well as Magic Rubber, my childhood Noddy collection consisted of His Car and Bumpy Dog which I don't remember much about - as well as the infamous Here Comes Noddy Again where he gets robbed in the Dark Wood. That was pretty disturbing!

[Katharine]

Magic Rubber isn't a book I've read yet, although I think I have it somewhere.

My brother and I owned about 5 or 6 Noddy books between, so I'm still remember them fairly clearly.

I did start to buy my children the updated Noddy books when they were little, but unfortunately they outgrew them before we'd completed the set.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I also started buying my children the Noddy books (mostly original texts, from charity shops) when they were little, but fortunately they outgrew them before we'd completed the set!

[Katharine]

Never mind Anita. Maybe you'll have grandchildren one day and then you can complete your Noddy collection for them.

[Courtenay]

I had only about 6 or so of the original Noddy books when I was little and read them over and over — even when I was well past the age they were written for, because Noddy and his friends have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and I love him to bits. I was always rather jealous of my cousins, who had the entire set of original books and I would go indulging in them whenever we visited. But now, finally, as a (sort of?) grown-up, thanks to the wonders of eBay, I have the entire set as well. And I don't care what anyone else thinks, so there.

[Katharine]

...... But now, finally, as a (sort of?) grown-up, thanks to the wonders of eBay, I have the entire set as well. And I don't care what anyone else thinks, so there.

Spoken like a true Blytonian.

[Courtenay]

Thanks, Katharine. Although we mustn't, of course, be taken as implying that anyone who doesn't like Noddy is therefore not a true Blytonian...

(In the interests of disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of the Famous Five, have only ever read one Secret Seven book and never had any desire to read more, and have no interest in the school stories. But I always feel welcomed and accepted here as a genuine Blyton fan and I hope everyone else does too. )

[Wolfgang]

I also started buying my children the Noddy books (mostly original texts, from charity shops) when they were little, but fortunately they outgrew them before we'd completed the set!

Maybe you're lucky and will start appreciating Noddy stories when you're 64 .

[Lucky Star]

I picked up The Girl from Capernaum today in an Irish charity shop for 4 euros. No dust jacket but a nice hardback copy of a book I was lacking.

[Anita Bensoussane]

A nice find, John! I have two copies of that book, though neither of mine have dustwrappers either. The earlier edition is a larger, flatter format containing some colour illustrations by Elsie Walker (in addition to the black line drawings), while the later one is the size of a typical book and doesn't have any colour.

I also have The Boy With the Loaves and Fishes, The Boy Who Came Back and The Man Who Stopped to Help, but all of those are non-colour editions (though each has a colour frontispiece).

Enid retells and embroiders the stories in her inimitable way, adding plenty of details which would appeal to children (e.g. Anna in The Little Girl at Capernaum is given a carved wooden boat by her aunt, for which her father makes a sail).

Interestingly, my 1948 edition of The Little Girl at Capernaum has a foreword by Gordon Hewitt which finishes:

"The story that follows is the second of a series of eight stories of Jesus which Enid Blyton has promised to write for you. We asked her to write them because she is the best story-teller we know about."

In the later version of the book (1955), the first of the above sentences has been altered to:

"The story that follows is the second of two stories of Jesus which Enid Blyton has written for you."

Both The Boy With the Loaves and Fishes and The Little Girl at Capernaum were published in 1946. Although The Boy Who Came Back and The Man Who Stopped to Help joined them eventually, there was a large gap as they didn't appear until 1965. By that stage, Enid Blyton was suffering from dementia and it's not surprising that she only managed two more, rather than six. Why there was such a gap between books two and three, I've no idea.

Maybe you're lucky and will start appreciating Noddy stories when you're 64 .

I'll let you know!

[Katharine]

The other day I bought 'The Christmas Book'. I couldn't remember if I already have a copy, but it was only 50p from a charity bookshop, so thought I'd take a risk.

[Lucky Star]

For 50p you certainly can’t go too far wrong.

[Anita Bensoussane]

A couple of days ago I was in London for a hospital appointment, and afterwards I went to the bookstalls on the South Bank. I didn't buy any Blyton books (though there were quite a few vintage paperbacks), but a Daily Mail Annual with a fair amount of Enid Blyton content caught my eye and I bought it for £8.50 - not as cheap as charity shop prices, but reasonable for a 1946 annual with a nice dustwrapper (featuring a bearded man and butterflies on the front, and three children looking at sweet peas on the back). The cover picture relates to the story 'Moonbeam End' by Ross Inglis, but the volume contains numerous stories (and poems, articles, puzzles and things to make) by many different writers, including six stories by Enid Blyton. Here's a link to the listing in the Cave:

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/boo ... %5B1946%5D

'Cosy's Good Turn' is an enjoyably long and involved story about Bundle the dog and Cosy the cat. It was all the more interesting to me because the current Journal, number 82, describes how the amusing duo came into being. On page 150 of the annual, readers are instructed how to make their own toy Bundle using black fabric and stuffing.

'The Toys and the Goblins' sees the toys helping some fairies in a most innovative way (incidentally, it's the golly who has the "marvellous idea" that helps them). The illustrator, Leonard Matthews, gives us some extremely glamorous-looking fairies and a collection of wonderfully grotesque goblins. 'The Vanishing Potatoes' also revolves around an ingenious idea, while 'The Big Plush Monkey' is a heartwarming tale with a strong message.

'Chinky and the Brownies' is a fairly simple story about a man whose foolish mistakes cause chaos. There are shades of Simple Simon, Meddle or Twiddle, though I don't feel that this tale is anywhere near as clever or as complex as the best of those. 'The Magic Watering Can' is another comic story which was already familiar to me.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the annual, especially the articles on the Cutty Sark and Madame Tussaud's.

By the way, Chrissie has mentioned Norman Dale several times so I was pleased to pick up a book of his for £5 at the same bookstall. I'll write about that in the relevant thread.