Enid Blyton – Le Club Des Cinq Et Le Trésor De L'île

[pete9012S]

For the first time, François, Mick and Annie are going to spend the holidays with their uncle and aunt in Kernach. There they meet their cousin Claude, a real tomboy. The four children quickly become inseparable. Accompanied by the faithful dog Dagobert, they set off to discover a treasure indicated on an old map of the island of Kernach.

Any comments on this cover art? As good as Soper? Better than Maxey?

See also from 1976:

Enid Blyton – Le Club Des Cinq Et Le Trésor De L'île
Label: Hachette Jeunesse Collections – J.C.S 302
Series: Disques Roses
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: France
Released: 1976
Genre: Non-Music, Children's
Style: Story, Audiobook

Again comments on the cover art - this time from 1976?

[Anita Bensoussane]

The characters look aggressive and cartoonish in the top picture and it doesn't appeal. The second picture does appeal to me because of its charming colours, pleasant composition and likeable-looking characters, even though Anne's dress is very 1970s and not ideal for climbing and exploring!

[pete9012S]

A fair appraisal Anita.
Positives: Both later pictures depict seabirds well. I don't think internally at least this was Betty or Eileen's strongpoint.

First picture shows TWO OARS - again Eileen often only bothered to include one, even though I think George's boat could accept two sets of oars.

Angry faces in 1st pic - why?

More like matchstick men in 2nd pic - amazing considering the amount of grub the Five consume.
But, is Tim too tubby in the first pic? I think Dick often teased George that Tim was carrying a few extra pounds.
Are we allowed to girth shame a dog these days???


The sublime definitive covers for me. can they be beaten - perhaps not!

[Boodi 2]

I don't like the first cover at all, but the second one is not bad (apart from Timmy's ears). However, it is not easy to beat the sublime definitive covers posted above and while I dislike BM internals I really love her covers!!!

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

What I like about the second cover is that the box looks heavy - like it's really lead-lined!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I agree with Boodi that the covers Pete has picked out by Eileen Soper and Betty Maxey are beautiful. They convey the dreamy, idyllic quality of the story while also conjuring up a feeling of exploration, adventure and excitement.

[Barnard]

The top picture is simply dreadful.

[pete9012S]

The two Eileen Soper covers - 1942 & 1951 - any comments, favourites out of these two?
Only ONE OAR in the boat on the right!!



Betty Maxey's 1967 external with a similar scene from the book on the right by Eileen Soper.
Hooray! The missing oar has reappeared in Soper's internal!!!

I have tried to remove all the title blurb from the above front covers so we can appreciate them better.

I think if Betty Maxey had done externals only she would be much more highly regarded as an illustrator of the books.

As I grew up with this Betty Maxey 1967 external with full Eileen Soper internals I like them both.
As a child I didn't seem to appreciate/notice that some paperback books had Soper and some had Maxey illustrations.

I do remember asking my Dad why Julian was wearing a swimming costume like this one.
Even in the early 1970's it seemed so very dated:




The boys strip off in Hike - Betty Maxey's 1968 depiction.


Even by 1951 Hike's swimming costumes still seem dated to my eyes..

[pete9012S]

The first two pics again for fair comparison:

[Anita Bensoussane]

The two Eileen Soper covers - 1942 & 1951 - any comments, favourites out of these two?

I can't decide. Each is attractive in its own way.

[Boodi 2]

Both are excellent, but I prefer the 1942 one (i.e. the cover on the left). I agree that the swimming costumes are very dated, as even at my advanced age I never saw such bathing attire in reality!

[Fiona1986]

The characters look aggressive and cartoonish in the top picture and it doesn't appeal. The second picture does appeal to me because of its charming colours, pleasant composition and likeable-looking characters, even though Anne's dress is very 1970s and not ideal for climbing and exploring!

It looks like she might have leggings or tights on underneath (I'm not sure if that makes it any better). That or she's overdone the self-tanner

[Boatbuilder]

I do remember asking my Dad why Julian was wearing a swimming costume like this one.
Even in the early 1970's it seemed so very dated:

It even seemed very dated in the 1950's as well, Pete, when I first saw it.

[Moonraker]

Yes, I read these in the 1950s and remember thinking them dated as well!