Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
- Courtenay
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
That book is one of my favourites, Pete — we had a later edition of it when I was little.
It contains some of the most memorable short stories by Enid that I've ever read. "The Quarrel in the Playroom" is one with a very strong message against conceit and jealousy and contains some of the worst-behaved toys — not just naughty, but downright malicious — that Enid ever wrote about.
There's also a story championing the quiet and shy among us ("A Noise in the Night"); a heartwarming tale of a boy whose compassion not only saves an injured dog but transforms the dog's apparently mean and unkind owner ("The Very Fierce Carpenter"); an anti-graffiti yarn ("Mr Squiggle"); a story from our old friend Bobs ("The Great Big Bone!"); a heartfelt plea for abused or neglected animals ("A Lark in a Cage...")... those are just a few of the highlights, but if you find a copy of the book, it is well worth reading.
EDIT: Ah, I see Rob's got in before me with a few other recommendations!
It contains some of the most memorable short stories by Enid that I've ever read. "The Quarrel in the Playroom" is one with a very strong message against conceit and jealousy and contains some of the worst-behaved toys — not just naughty, but downright malicious — that Enid ever wrote about.
There's also a story championing the quiet and shy among us ("A Noise in the Night"); a heartwarming tale of a boy whose compassion not only saves an injured dog but transforms the dog's apparently mean and unkind owner ("The Very Fierce Carpenter"); an anti-graffiti yarn ("Mr Squiggle"); a story from our old friend Bobs ("The Great Big Bone!"); a heartfelt plea for abused or neglected animals ("A Lark in a Cage...")... those are just a few of the highlights, but if you find a copy of the book, it is well worth reading.
EDIT: Ah, I see Rob's got in before me with a few other recommendations!
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
- Rob Houghton
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
We had the same edition as that when I was a child - except it was the 'glazed boards' version rather than dust jacket version. I now have the dust jacket edition that Pete posted above.
I agree that this is one of the best collections of Enid's short stories. There were so many I could have added to my favourites - I don't think there's a weak story amongst them!
I agree that this is one of the best collections of Enid's short stories. There were so many I could have added to my favourites - I don't think there's a weak story amongst them!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
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hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
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- Courtenay
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
Yes, ours is "glazed boards" too.
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
- Daisy
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
I have two copies both with dust wrappers which appear identical - very yellowing pages and no publication date so I assume may be firsts. I'm not sure why I have two - probably bought one thinking I hadn't got it - only £2.00 though so I don't mind! Yes, they are a very nice collection of short stories.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
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- Rob Houghton
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
According to Tony's notes in the cave, if there are 14 other titles on the back, it's a 'first edition' but otherwise it is a reprint.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
Society Member
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
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- Daisy
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
Thanks for that Rob. One has 20 and the other has 24 titles on the back. I did look in the cave but missed that bit of information.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
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- Rob Houghton
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
I meant to say earlier, Pete , what a great idea this thread is. All it needs is for people to post their 'gems' and provide links to the cave. It's a great way of publicising the cave, as many people still don't know much about it!
Another firm favourite of mine - a childhood gem I read over and over again was 'Enid Blyton's Storytime Book' - this cover but again glazed boards -
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... 28No.+1%29
Many favourite stories in here - The Magic Treacle Jug, "I Don't Want To!", Oh, Sammy!, The Quiet Kite, Beware Of The Bull, You Simply Never Know, The Very Fat Conker and The Boy Who Wouldn't Race.
Another firm favourite of mine - a childhood gem I read over and over again was 'Enid Blyton's Storytime Book' - this cover but again glazed boards -
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... 28No.+1%29
Many favourite stories in here - The Magic Treacle Jug, "I Don't Want To!", Oh, Sammy!, The Quiet Kite, Beware Of The Bull, You Simply Never Know, The Very Fat Conker and The Boy Who Wouldn't Race.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
Society Member
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
I have always found it slightly annoying that the numbers don't run correctly on that Dean series. This is because the Cave sticks rigidly to listing books by the date they were published and Nos. 1 & 2 were published the year after Nos. 3 to 8. There are also problems later on with 51 and 52 and also the second appearance of No. 18, when The Children at Green Meadows replaced The Three Golliwogs. Sadly I still don't have an image of the final book, Hollow Tree House - I know I have a copy, but I have failed to find it!
- Courtenay
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
Sounds like another good one, Rob! I don't know that collection.
One thing I love about the Cave is that if you know at least some of the title, you can track down just about any Blyton story, short or long, and find out exactly where it was published and all the reprints, if any, it's been through. Not being a "real collector" ( ), I'm rarely consumed with remorse over something I could have bought and didn't. But one thing that nags at my memory is something I found literally only a few weeks (if that) before I left Australia for Britain. It was in Canterbury — not your original Canterbury, of course, but Canterbury the suburb of Melbourne, which is a few stations down the line from where I used to live and has a lovely old main shopping street (Maling Road) with a real village atmosphere. (Yes, I would hang around there and try to pretend I was in England already. It's not really that much like an English village, but it's about the closest one can get in Melbourne.)
Outside one of the many antiques/collectables shops in a small rack of books, I came across a little old volume of Enid Blyton short stories. Hadn't bought a Blyton book for years (this was before I discovered the Society!). It wasn't one I remembered from childhood, but I flicked through and picked just one story to read on the spot, latching onto an intriguing title: "The Three Strange Keys". Loved it — simple, appealing, folktale-like story, told with Enid's typical light yet sure touch, with a memorable twist and a bit of a laugh as we discover what the "keys" of the title really are. (Not unpredictable, but nonetheless satisfying.) But as for buying the book... honestly, I was already up to my neck packing all my books into indefinite storage (where they still remain), and I wouldn't be taking any with me, and I should be saving money, and I didn't really need it... Of course, it's haunted me ever since, though I couldn't for the life of me remember the title of the book itself.
But now, thanks to the Cave, I can look up that one remembered story and discover exactly what book it was! (The one I found that day didn't have a dust jacket.)
Funnily enough, having looked at it on eBay, I'm now sure we DID have that same book at home when I was little, but for some reason I never read it!! So maybe there was a good reason why I didn't buy it that day after all... I'll have to have a look for it at my parents' place next time I'm back in Oz.
One thing I love about the Cave is that if you know at least some of the title, you can track down just about any Blyton story, short or long, and find out exactly where it was published and all the reprints, if any, it's been through. Not being a "real collector" ( ), I'm rarely consumed with remorse over something I could have bought and didn't. But one thing that nags at my memory is something I found literally only a few weeks (if that) before I left Australia for Britain. It was in Canterbury — not your original Canterbury, of course, but Canterbury the suburb of Melbourne, which is a few stations down the line from where I used to live and has a lovely old main shopping street (Maling Road) with a real village atmosphere. (Yes, I would hang around there and try to pretend I was in England already. It's not really that much like an English village, but it's about the closest one can get in Melbourne.)
Outside one of the many antiques/collectables shops in a small rack of books, I came across a little old volume of Enid Blyton short stories. Hadn't bought a Blyton book for years (this was before I discovered the Society!). It wasn't one I remembered from childhood, but I flicked through and picked just one story to read on the spot, latching onto an intriguing title: "The Three Strange Keys". Loved it — simple, appealing, folktale-like story, told with Enid's typical light yet sure touch, with a memorable twist and a bit of a laugh as we discover what the "keys" of the title really are. (Not unpredictable, but nonetheless satisfying.) But as for buying the book... honestly, I was already up to my neck packing all my books into indefinite storage (where they still remain), and I wouldn't be taking any with me, and I should be saving money, and I didn't really need it... Of course, it's haunted me ever since, though I couldn't for the life of me remember the title of the book itself.
But now, thanks to the Cave, I can look up that one remembered story and discover exactly what book it was! (The one I found that day didn't have a dust jacket.)
Funnily enough, having looked at it on eBay, I'm now sure we DID have that same book at home when I was little, but for some reason I never read it!! So maybe there was a good reason why I didn't buy it that day after all... I'll have to have a look for it at my parents' place next time I'm back in Oz.
Society Member
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
- Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
I was also fond of Storytime Book as a youngster, Rob, though I think it was the cover that attracted me as much as the contents. I loved the girl's candy-striped dress, the lively-looking dog, the children's glowing faces and glossy hair, and the fact that they were hurrying along the street carrying books in their hands. They seemed to be rushing home to read, full of eager expectation, just as I did after a visit to the library.
My favourite stories from that book were '"I Don't Want To!"', 'Jimmy and the Jackdaw', 'The Very Fat Conker', 'Pipkin Plays a Trick', 'Oh, Sammy!', 'You Simply Never Know!', 'The Mischievous Tunnel' and 'The Magic Treacle-Jug'. I found 'The Little Sugar-Mouse' rather upsetting!
My favourite stories from that book were '"I Don't Want To!"', 'Jimmy and the Jackdaw', 'The Very Fat Conker', 'Pipkin Plays a Trick', 'Oh, Sammy!', 'You Simply Never Know!', 'The Mischievous Tunnel' and 'The Magic Treacle-Jug'. I found 'The Little Sugar-Mouse' rather upsetting!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
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"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
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- Rob Houghton
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
I agree about the cover! I loved many of the Dean covers - they were usually so well drawn. I guess that's why I hate many of the modern covers - they just arent the same! Look at any of these Dean covers in the Cave and then look at the covers for the same books in the 1990's. No comparison!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
Society Member
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
Society Member
Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
I will scan my copy and email it to you. Unless you find yours first!Tony Summerfield wrote: Sadly I still don't have an image of the final book, Hollow Tree House - I know I have a copy, but I have failed to find it!
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- pete9012S
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... ou+a+Story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Just been looking up this title.I notice the inside cover seems to have a pleasant design too...
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
All the Macmillan books have got nicely designed cloth boards, Pete, it isn't just the Adventure series. I guess I should consider showing them in the Cave! The one that you have pictured has seen better days!!
- Rob Houghton
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Re: Personal Gems From The Cave Of Books
I have both 'I'll tell you a Story' and 'I'll Tell You Another Story' - both unfortunately without wrappers, and both have seen better days! They are quite difficult books to find with nice clean cloth boards, let alone in wrappers, but they're a good selection of stories and all illustrated by Eileen Soper.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
Society Member
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'
(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)
Society Member