The Famous Five by Enid Blyton

by Maha Huneidi and Hilary Burt (separately)

One of the many Famous Five Books

Browse Famous Five books on Amazon.

I was in boarding school when I read the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. I remember that I couldn’t wait for homework time, because we had to sit in the library for two hours whether we’d finished homework or not, so I got to read my precious books after homework… sometimes even before! I just loved the smell of the old library and being among all those old books.

I must admit that I started with the Secret Seven series, but it’s faded in my memory. When I finished the series I began reading The Famous Five series. Forty five years later, I still remember one character vividly. I was immediately captivated by the character of George. Don’t get me wrong I loved all four characters, and Timothy the dog. They complemented each other, but my absolute favorite was definitely George. I loved her independence, courage, dignity, defiance and vulnerability… I liked to imagine that I was like her! Those books were my respite from the confinement of boarding school and I longed to be transported into the adventures of The Famous Five.

Maha Huneidi is a self published author of the children’s picture book, When Monsters Get Lonely. She is a certified meditation and yoga instructor and the creator of the website Empowerment and Kids.

I grew up on the Famous Five by Enid Blyton, devouring each book as though the characters were close personal friends and identifying with the tomboy character, George.

I loved those stories and wanted to be part of every single adventure. Plus, icing on the cake, there was a dog, Timmy, who accompanied the children and protected them on their adventures.

I realise now, as a teacher, how limited these books are - the language, plot development etc - but for me they got me reading, enabled me to practise over and over again the high frequency words that most of our language is based on, and I learned how magical books can be.

These aren’t sophisticated novels but they’re accessible and straightforward with no tricky bits to stumble over. I am now a teacher and passionate about helping people improve their literacy. I say, whatever works - comics, children’s newspapers, novels, poetry . . . bring it on!

Hilary Burt writes the website Spelling Help Online aimed at helping children and adults with their reading and spelling. There is a focus on dyslexia, and technology that helps, as well as free downloadable word searches. She is a private literacy tutor in the south of England.