Uncollected Pip the Pixie Stories in the Cave

[Tony Summerfield]

When he was doing his research for the Society booklet on the Sunday Graphic, David Chambers found that between May 6th 1945 and May 29th 1949 Enid wrote 210 stories about Pip in the Sunday Graphic. Sampson Low published 60 of these in two books in 1948 and these later appeared in a Dean book. A further 13 were used in various other short story books, but 137 have remained uncollected and unseen for over 70 years.

Over the past few weeks David has been cleaning these stories and bit by bit adding them to the Cave. He has now added 26 stories and reached the end of 1946. The first of these stories was on June 3rd 1945 and there was then a bit of a gap until September 9th.

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=3351" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=3436" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope that some of our readers enjoy them and appreciate the work that David has put in. I certainly do!

[Kate Mary]

I certainly appreciate it too. I have the Dean 'omnibus' edition and I've read it many times. What a treat to be able to read the uncollected stories. Many thanks to David Chambers, I shall enjoy these little stories.

[pete9012S]

This is marvelous Tony - A most enjoyable edition to the cave. Many thanks to David and yourself for making the stories available to us.

[Lucky Star]

Excellent work David and Tony. I enjoyed reading those. I never even knew they were there. The Periodicals section is not one I usually visit.

[Eddie Muir]

Excellent work indeed, David and Tony. Thank you both.

[John Pickup]

Thanks to David Chambers for making these available to us and thanks to Tony for making us aware they are in the Cave. I enjoyed reading the first two via Tony's links.

[Courtenay]

Oooh, wonderful! Pip the Pixie has been one of my favourites ever since I discovered The Adventures of Pip at the age of 9. I'm looking forward to reading all the previously uncollected ones! Many thanks to David for doing all this work, and Tony for letting us know.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks, David - and Tony! I've just read A Scare in the Night and The Magic Spinner. Great little tales for stirring the imagination, encouraging children to take an interest in nature and imparting knowledge in an engaging manner. The Magic Spinner is particularly appealing in my opinion, with Pip getting into trouble!

[Tony Summerfield]

There are now 70 uncollected Pip and Jinky stories in the Cave - I hope someone is reading some of them.

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=3954" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Kate Mary]

I am working my way through them gradually and appreciate being able to read these little stories, I would never have seen them if they hadn't been put in the Cave. Thank you very much Tony, it must involve a lot of work, it would be such a shame if they had never seen the light of day again.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've just read two more uncollected Pip stories - New Wings for Old and Pip Tells the Rook.

The first is about bats. I knew their wings were finger-bones with skin stretched over them but I didn't know that bats have "pockets" (pouches) between their legs and tail. Enid's story prompted me to find out more and I read on the Smithsonian website that "A long spur, the calcar, extends from one of the ankle bones and helps spread the interfemoral membrane, that part of the wing membrane between the tail and the hind legs. This membrane can form a basket or pouch to help catch and hold insects captured in flight."

https://www.si.edu/spotlight/bats/batfacts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pip Tells the Rook taught me something too - how to tell the difference between a Daddy-long-legs and a "Mother-long-legs" by looking at the shape of the tail.

Even in my fifties, I'm still learning things from Enid Blyton's wonderful stories!


New Wings for Old:

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=3437" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pip Tells the Rook:

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=3439" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[David Chambers]

I agree with you Anita. I thought exactly the same about Daddy Long Legs. I didn't know that either. As you say Enid always has something new to teach us.

I know I don't often post on the forums but wanted to say I do appreciate Tony and yourself highlighting these further adventures of Pip. I always hoped to add these, but cleaning them (as Tony knows only too well) takes forever and can be rather tedious. Encouragement from Tony and a few words from people like yourself, Kate Mary and others really helps to motivate me. I hope to add another 10 tomorrow which will bring the total to 120. Only another 17 to go after that so I'm nearly there!

Personally I really enjoy these tales and they undoubtedly deserve more exposure. They were written pre-Noddy when Enid was at the top of her game and I know there was an intention to publish another book of Pip tales using around 36 (many of these unpublished ones) for Collins in 1964, but for some reason or other it didn't come about. (Perhaps Enid wasn't thinking as clearly from around this time). Jinky and Aunt Twinkle are much more prominent in these and I particularly like the ones at the seaside with mussels, seaweed, starfish etc., If any of Enid's work is needed right now, it is surely something to educate and foster an appreciation for nature and the world we live in.

Incidentally if you are working your way through you can type 'uncollected pip' into the search box on the Cave of Books home page to see all of them:
https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/sea ... lected+pip

Thanks again.
David

[Anita Bensoussane]

It's good to hear from you, David. Tony told me you were getting on well with adding the Pip stories. Thanks for the tip about typing "uncollected pip" into the search box.

If any of Enid's work is needed right now, it is surely something to educate and foster an appreciation for nature and the world we live in.

I couldn't agree more. It's wonderful that these tales are being made available through the website. They're real gems, informative and imaginative, and should not be forgotten.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've enjoyed reading two more Pip tales - Knock at the Door and A Knotty Problem - both of which deal with hibernation. Seeing Pip interacting with various creatures makes everything so much more vivid and memorable than simply reading facts.


https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=3456" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=3458" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[John Pickup]

I think a lot of us Enid Blyton readers have become interested in nature because we are Enid Blyton readers!
How can you not want to know more about Shellyback the snail? These stories really are little gems.