The Folk of the Faraway Tree: 1 (The Magic Faraway Tree)

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However, in re-reading with a fresh perspective, I stumbled on an uncomfortable truth. This book, like many of Enid Blyton’s works, contains problematic content. This 2007 reprint amended the most problematic and outdated references; “slapping” is now “snapping”, “Fanny” is instead “Frannie”, but the echo of the original remained. For the 1% of you who don't know, Jo, Bessie, and Fanny (yes this is the non PC edition) move from the city to the country with their parents. They live in a cottage near some woods and when they explore the woods they find a whole bunch of exciting creatures and all of the animals can talk. In the middle of the woods is the world's tallest tree, know I like the bit when they save the tree. I like it because something bad happens and then some thing bad happens. I dislike it because Connie didn't believe in the Faraway Tree. Out of five stars I would give it four.

Voices: Roy Hudd, Richard Pearce, Kate Harbour, John Baddeley, Jimmy Hibbert, Janet James and David Holt. So I say to anyone, read this to your young kids, it is brilliant. Full of fantasy and adventure but really simplified. There are no in-depth plots, it is just one adventure after another, no slow character build-ups, just in your face - these are the characters, now let's go. Three siblings and their friend, Connie, visit the wood behind their cottage, and at the center of the forest is the Faraway Tree. It is the largest tree in the world; so large that the top reaches the clouds, and at the very top the Faraway Tree connects to a magical land. But the magical connection changes every week, so that you never know which land will be at the top of the tree. It might be the Land of Birthdays where everyone gets a free birthday party. Or it might be the land of evil goblins. It might be a land that rolls and jumps with constant earthquakes. Whatever land there is, the three children and their fairy friends are sure to have a wild adventure!Flood, Alison (22 October 2014). "Enid Blyton – not as good as she used to be". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 October 2022.

Now then, children of all ages between eight and eighty, strap yourselves in for a mad and magical dash up a gigantic tree and into the whitest of white clouds, from which—if you aren't careful—you may never return. We're off to visit the Folk of the Faraway Tree in this, the third and final book in the Enchanted Wood series. We read this as a class book, and I admit I wasn't a fan. I found it simplistic, a little dull and frankly the children are not that engaged either. Despite enjoying Moon face, Joe, Beth and Fannie are not interesting characters to follow, nor are the lands they visit given enough feeling to make it worth it.Still, it meant we had some interesting conversations with my 4 yr old boy about gender roles and the idiocy of perpetuating the same. When I read that Enid Blyton was one the favorite childhood authors of the likes of Neil Gaiman and Stieg Larsson, and when a British exchange student at my daughter's college exclaimed in surprise when she heard that her American friends had never heard of Enid Blyton, my curiosity was aroused. It turns out, Blyton is the 4th most translated author (after Shakespeare), wrote 700 books for children, and last year (2009) was voted favorite British author in one poll (beating out J.K. Rowling). Originally published in the month of May in 1939, this was first brought out by the publisher George Newnes. Setting up the characters and the premise, this is the first book in the series of ‘The Faraway Tree’, as it sees them arrive for the first time. It also establishes the world it’s set within, as it depicts the magic and wonder of it all, allowing it to come alive for all the young readers. A British institution almost in her own right, the famous children’s author Enid Blyton was well known for her fun, friendly and accessible family oriented literature. With many enduring characters such as Noddy, the Famous Five, and the Secret Seven, she was definitely an author of her time. The stories she wrote, though, have lived on throughout the years, seeing various different incarnations over time, whilst always remaining true to the spirit of the originals. One such series that she’s particularly well known for is that of her Faraway Tree series of novels, an enduring collection of novels that retain a timeless quality to this very day. Set in a fantastical land they told stories that worked alongside the illustrations of Georgina Hargreaves to tell a magical tale of childhood wonder and enchantment. Following the adventures of Jo, Bessie and Fanny, it sees the three children moving into a new home by an enchanted forest with a magical tree they climb, taking them off to far and distant lands of magic and wonder.

But now grim times are upon them. Troll Thieves are cutting at the roots of the Faraway Tree in search of jewel stones, and the tree is now dying. There are no fruits anymore, and the leaves are old and withered. It's a dim and dark age, and the Folk grow sad and worried. But in this and some other modern editions, the corporal punishment – and any sense of threat – has just been silently removed. Nostalgia is in itself, magic. The stories that we loved as children live on in us. Sometimes those stories fade over time, lose a little of their definition. But should you revisit fond childhood stories? That’s the question I asked myself as I began to re-read The Folk of the Faraway Tree, one of my most beloved childhood stories.

In 1997, stories from the novels were adapted into animated ten-minute episodes for the TV series Enid Blyton's Enchanted Lands. The series, entitled Enchanted Lands: The Magic of the Faraway Tree had 13 episodes: The Faraway Tree is a series of popular novels for children by British author Enid Blyton. The titles in the series are The Enchanted Wood (1939), The Magic Faraway Tree (1943), The Folk of the Faraway Tree (1946) and Up the Faraway Tree (1951). After all the intensity has passed it's "Goodbye!" to the Faraway Tree for this session and what better way to bow out than to visit one more land — a place that is simply one great Treat with a capital "T" and after that we are left waiting for the next book to arrive.