Five on a Treasure Island

By the time I learnt to read, Enid Blyton had already written six or seven children’s books. One of my early reads was likely to have been this one, the original adventure. Eventually, I read them all.

I learnt the characters so well; their looks and personalities, they were embedded in my mind until the next book – and the remaining nineteen! So clear were their identities, my friends and I were able to re-enact the Five’s escapades taking the roles of the siblings and cousin. 

Although some of her writing comes in for criticism these days (from adults), it’s… show more.

This was the first ever book I read as a child of seven years old. I sat on my grandmother’s sofa in Leicester, bored, and I picked up this worn burgundy hardback and opened it looking for the pictures. Before I realised it I had read the first page and was turning to the next. An exciting moment. I subsequently read all the Famous Five books. I didn’t really think of reading them to my son as Enid Blyton is not greatly regarded these days. True, the world she recreates is traditional, especially for women, and it doesn’t challenge kids… show more.