Website Additions

What would you like to see? All feedback and suggestions appreciated!
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Rob Houghton »

I'm not entirely convinced about this twin argument. I mean - I agree that technically a boy and girl twin can not be identical as such, and that its impossible, but I get the impression Enid was using the term 'identical' (when she uses it!) or 'as like as' or 'very alike' as interchangeable descriptions, and is also being a bit vague. After all, even two brothers or two sisters or a brother and sister could look alike if their hair and clothes were the same, surely, depending on hair colour, age, size etc? They don't have to be biologically 'identical' to look alike...? 8)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Courtenay
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Courtenay »

Yes, but whenever she refers to a brother and sister as being so alike you almost can't tell one from the other (which she does in a number of stories), she inevitably refers to them as "twins". In one Mr Pink-Whistle story, for example (I can't remember which one), there's a brother and sister who are referred to as looking alike and who tell Pink-Whistle "Yes, we're twins. We were born on the same day." So I can only conclude that Enid always assumed that brother and sister twins should look just as much "alike" as genuine identical twins do. Which they can't.

Now I'll leave off the argument and stop derailing threads with it, honestly!! :wink:
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Julie2owlsdene
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

I think it's a bit picky what you're saying, Courtenay. I think as Rob says, Enid just meant they look alike. She had no intentions I'm sure of going into the biological depths. Look at the book Finniston Farm, and the twins ' the Harries'. It makes the story more interesting when they look alike and dress alike. And so the term 'identical' can be used. :)

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"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"

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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Tony Summerfield wrote:Another whole book scanned which some people may not have seen before.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... Rhyme+Land" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks, Tony. The Twins Go to Nursery-Rhyme Land is a simple story but Enid Blyton certainly covers a lot of nursery-rhymes and I'm sure young children would have fun identifying them. As a child I always found it alarming when Blyton characters ended up in strange lands and people crowded round saying things like, "They don't belong" and "What shall we do with them?" The Faraway Tree children also have an encounter with The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe (and other nursery-rhyme characters). It's lovely that Tom and Polly each have a memento of their trip.

Eileen Soper's illustrations are wonderful - particularly her picture of the palace and soldiers.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Courtenay
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Courtenay »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:As a child I always found it alarming when Blyton characters ended up in strange lands and people crowded round saying things like, "They don't belong" and "What shall we do with them?".
I agree, it's a fun little story, but if I'd had it read to me as a child, I might have been left a bit scared of some of those nursery rhymes afterwards — especially the Old Woman! :lol: :wink:
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Rob Houghton »

There's a rather battered edition of The Twins Go To Nursery Rhyme Land on eBay - £7.50 + free postage from World of Rare Books. :-)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Twins-Go- ... SwA3dYjGdz
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Kate Mary
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Kate Mary »

I thought it was quite an alarming little story too for a young child but I had to laugh at the line about Humpty Dumpty "There he goes, look! Smashed as usual". Soper's illustrations are lovely in colour.
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Re: Website Additions

Post by John Pickup »

A lovely little book with some beautiful illustrations. I particularly like the one of the shoe house.
Also, I tend to agree with Rob's comments about twins, I don't suppose that Enid was interested in the biological definition of them.
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Carlotta King
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Carlotta King »

I didn't even know that boy and girl twins couldn't be identical!
"Fussy Gussy! Polly, Polly, Polly-gize!"

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Re: Website Additions

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Neither did I, Cathy. Many twins boy and girl look alike, and I guess that's why they say 'identical'. It's just a heading of sorts. :)

8)
Julian gave an exclamation and nudged George.
"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"

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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

To be identical they'd have to have come from the same egg and therefore be the same sex. However, it's true that non-identical twins can still look very much alike - just as some siblings of different ages do.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: Website Additions

Post by Moonraker »

As I previously said, Enid didn't say they were identical. She said:
that if they hadn't been dressed as a boy and a girl no one would have been able to tell one from the other.
To me, that means their faces were so alike you couldn't see the difference.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Rob Houghton »

It's a bit like my two great nephews. One is just five months old and the other (his cousin) is 18 months - and in some photos they look identical apart from age. :D I never really thought of the fact that 'identical' meant 'identical' I just supposed it meant the children were very alike. I'm sure its biologically possible for a boy and girl twin to have the same ginger hair or the same freckles or the same snub nose...and these are the qualities Enid was talking about, I think! :-)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Julie2owlsdene
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Re: Website Additions

Post by Julie2owlsdene »

Yes, I agree with that Rob - as I said, identical is just a heading for a 'look alike'. :)

8)
Julian gave an exclamation and nudged George.
"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"

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Re: Website Additions

Post by pete9012S »

This subject reminded me of this passage from the books:
George and the ragamuffin stood scowling at one another, each with fists clenched. They looked so astonishingly alike, with their short, curly hair, brown freckled faces and fierce expressions that Julian suddenly roared with laughter.
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
- The Christmas Tree Aeroplane -

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