The Naughtiest Girl
Spoilt, defiant Elizabeth Allen is furious when her parents decide to send her away to boarding-school. She makes up her mind to be thoroughly rude and disobedient, determined to be expelled by half-term.
Whyteleafe School is surprisingly progressive for the 1940s. Enid Blyton's Froebel-based teacher-training course no doubt inspired her and it's possible that Summerhill in Suffolk was another influence. Not only is Whyteleafe co-educational, but discipline and decision-making are in the hands of the pupils. Head Boy William and Head Girl Rita act as Judges at weekly meetings together with a Jury of twelve elected monitors, dishing out advice, praise or penalties as they see fit. Headmistresses Miss Belle and Miss Best ("the Beauty and the Beast") explain that "We never punish anyone, Elizabeth... we leave any naughty person to the rest of the children to deal with." In addition, pupils are expected to pool all their money and are given a considerable degree of responsibility, taking charge (up to a point) of the school gardens and stables, and being allowed to keep pets.
Elizabeth begins to enjoy life at Whyteleafe, despite her best efforts to hate everything. She even makes friends with "the Mouse", Joan Townsend — though Joan feels that having the Bold Bad Girl as a friend is "rather like being friends with a thunderstorm! You never quite knew what Elizabeth was going to do next."
The unique nature of Whyteleafe and the engaging character of Elizabeth sweep readers into a world that is at once cosy and unexpected. W. Lindsay Cable and Kenneth Lovell were the original illustrators of the books. Blyton also wrote a short story, and six new books were written by Anne Digby in 1999-2000.
Naughtiest Girl Books, Stories and Games
- Original Naughtiest Girl Novels by Enid Blyton
- Naughtiest Girl Sequels
- Naughtiest Girl Short Story in Enid Blyton's Omnibus!
- Hodder 2004 Collection Editions
- Dramatised Naughtiest Girl Cassettes
- Hodder Dramatised Naughtiest Girl CDs
Naughtiest Girl
There are 3 original Naughtiest Girl books by Enid Blyton written between 1940 and 1945; the fourth book published in 1997 was originally serialised in Sunny Stories and then used in 1952 in Enid Blyton's Omnibus!
First Published in 1940 by George Newnes Book 1 of 4 in this category See review by Terry Gustafson |
|
First Published in 1942 by George Newnes Book 2 of 4 in this category See review by Terry Gustafson |
|
First Published in 1945 by George Newnes Book 3 of 4 in this category See review by Terry Gustafson |
|
First Published in 1997 by Hodder Children's Books Book 4 of 4 in this category See review by Terry Gustafson |
Naughtiest Girl Sequels
In 1999 and 2000, author Anne Digby write a number of Naughtiest Girl sequels...
Non-Series Books
Enid Blyton's Omnibus! was published in 1952 and featured five stories, one of which was about the Naughtiest Girl...
First Published in 1952 by George Newnes Book 15 of 23 in this category See review by Terry Gustafson |
Hodder 2004 Collection Editions
In 2004, Hodder Children's Books published a set of six Collection editions. One of these featured the Naughtiest Girl...
First Published in 2004 by Hodder Children's Books Book 4 of 6 in this category |
Audio Section...
Hodder Naughtiest Girl Willis Covers
In 1997, Hodder Children's Audio produced four cassette books of the Naughtiest Girl...
Hodder Dramatised Naughtiest Girl CDs
And in 2007, Hodder Children's Audio produced two Naughtiest Girl CDs...
First Published in 2007 by Hodder Children's Audio Book 1 of 2 in this category |
|
First Published in 2007 by Hodder Children's Audio Book 2 of 2 in this category |