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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless, classic entertainment for children, 29 May 2004
These comments apply to the whole Famous Five series, not just this book. Enid Blyton wrote several series based around groups of children having adventures (The Secret Island series - also excellent, the Secret Seven,) but the Famous Five is the one that seems to stand out, possibly because of the magic extra ingredient of Timmy, the faithful and resourceful dog.Enid Blyton has been criticised for being too 'middle class', and it is true that the children are ruthlessly polite and well-spoken (and they do sometimes have lashings of ginger beer), while there is frequently an additional child involved who starts out selfish and spoilt, but learns to be 'nice' through association with Julian, Dick and co. However, the stories are none the worse for that. It is also true that she endlessly recycles the same plot ingredients of secret passages, ruined castles, kidnappers and smugglers, jolly farmers' wives etc, but that is largely where the appeal lies, at least for younger children. My daughter is five, and I honestly thought she was probably too young when I bought one of the books as a 'filler' on a larger order from Amazon, but in fact she was hooked from the start, and in a year or two will be able to read them for herself. There is something magical about reading a couple of chapters at bedtime, and hearing her say she can't wait to find out what happens next, whilst speculating on the likely identity of the mystery figure in the tower (or whatever). There is also a surprising amount of humour, one example (from Five Get into Trouble) being where the children discover that the 'baddie' is planning to give Timmy poisoned food. They bury the poisoned food safely, before pretending, with feigned innocence, to feed leftovers to the baddie's chickens, sending him into a rage. My daughter found this hilarious, and I raised a smile or two myself. I remember these stories from my childhood, and I would like to think that in due course my daughter will pass them on to her children. So, ignore the carping of the PC brigade and indulge yourself and your children in one of life's enduring pleasures.
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