Bobbsey Twins
- Paul Austin
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Bobbsey Twins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbsey_Twins" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It's interesting to note that, like Enid, the Bobbsey Twins books were re-edited and re-written to eliminate things that were perceived as racist/sexist or were simply dated. Some Bobbsey Twins books were felt to be so dated that they didn't even get the re-write treatment and were not reprinted at all.
It's interesting to note that, like Enid, the Bobbsey Twins books were re-edited and re-written to eliminate things that were perceived as racist/sexist or were simply dated. Some Bobbsey Twins books were felt to be so dated that they didn't even get the re-write treatment and were not reprinted at all.
"History is the parts of the past that the present finds useful" - Anon
- Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
From the Wikipedia article:
Going back to the Bobbsey Twins, these days I expect the baseball-playing baby elephant would also be considered politically incorrect.
That reminds me of Enid Blyton's The Very Big Secret (1952), in which sister and brother Penny and Peter find a baby and care for it in secret (the baby had been popped into Penny's toy pram by its mother, who was feeling ill and wanted to lie down in the bracken for a rest). In a more recent edition of the book, the children find and care for a puppy instead.The Bobbsey Twins and Baby May received what is regarded as the most extreme rewrite; it is a story about the Bobbsey family's adventures trying to find the parents of a foundling baby. Since, by the 1960s, modern social services had rendered the original story utterly implausible, an entirely new novel was written about the twins' adventures with a baseball-playing baby elephant (The Bobbsey Twins' Adventures with Baby May).
Going back to the Bobbsey Twins, these days I expect the baseball-playing baby elephant would also be considered politically incorrect.
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"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
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"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
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- Kate Mary
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
Several Bobbsey Twins books (and other works by Laura Lee Hope; (probably the most famous author who never existed) are freely available on Project Gutenberg, but I wouldn't advise anyone of a nervous, PC disposition to read them as they are the original text:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search ... bsey+twins" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search ... bsey+twins" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines." Oliver Goldsmith
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- pete9012S
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
Thanks Kate Mary.I was able to download the original 1904 edition of a Bobbsey Twins book.
I love old books like these much more than the sanitized pc books of today.
Praise and thanks to Paul also for providing information about them.
I love old books like these much more than the sanitized pc books of today.
Praise and thanks to Paul also for providing information about them.
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
We are indeed fortunate to have such knowledgeable people contributing to these fora. I second your sentiment, Pete.pete9012S wrote: Praise and thanks to Paul also for providing information about them.
Incidentally, I loved reading The Bobbsey Twins as a child, and the alleged racism went over the top of my head. However, on a recent attempt at a re-read, it had lost its magic.
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- Daisy
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
My children read some of the Bobbsey Twins and at that time I also read a few but they didn't really appeal. They seem to be very much the kind of book one does grow out of! Unlike Blyton of course.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
You've hit the nail on the head there, Daisy. Why don't we grow out of Blyton?
Paul starts many threads. Isn't it a shame he doesn't add some comments? They would be most welcome.
Paul starts many threads. Isn't it a shame he doesn't add some comments? They would be most welcome.
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- pete9012S
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
I think Paul has clearly stated on numerous occasions that he likes to start an exciting Enid Blyton based topic off and then read everyone's else's opinions.
In this he reminds me very much of Henry Kissinger who said: "The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been."
In this he reminds me very much of Henry Kissinger who said: "The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been."
" A kind heart always brings its own reward," said Mrs. Lee.
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- Paul Austin
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
I first met a Bobbsey Twins book as a child in a time and a place that is long ago and far away. I really don't have much to say as it's been so long and i've been told most fans of the Bobbsey Twins are now in nursing homes and retirement villages.
"History is the parts of the past that the present finds useful" - Anon
- Daisy
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
Well I doubt being a Bobbsey Twin fan has contributed to that sorry state Paul! I guess you said that tongue in cheek though.
And Nigel, there are other authors I return to with pleasure - Malcolm Saville for example, but some do really just belong to childhood, I think.
And Nigel, there are other authors I return to with pleasure - Malcolm Saville for example, but some do really just belong to childhood, I think.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
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- John Pickup
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
I read quite a few Bobbsey Twins books as a child but I cannot remember anything about them. I suppose I'm ready for the nursing home, not because I read the books but because of my memory loss.
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- Courtenay
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
I wouldn't know the Bobbsey Twins from a bar of soap, as they say where I come from, but it doesn't sound like I've missed that much.
Nice avatar from Paul for Australia Day there, I see, by the way. I hope that's authentic Aboriginal art on the map of Oz and not a cheap rip-off of Indigenous Australian culture.
Nice avatar from Paul for Australia Day there, I see, by the way. I hope that's authentic Aboriginal art on the map of Oz and not a cheap rip-off of Indigenous Australian culture.
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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)
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)
- Daisy
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
I read a few as an adult John but have no recollection of any plot or adventure at all. As long as you can remember your Blyton stories I wouldn't worry too much!
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
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- Daisy
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
I thought the Australia map was attractive too - but the patterns remind me of Roman mosaics.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
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- John Pickup
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Re: Bobbsey Twins
Very true, Daisy. Regarding Enid's, and Malcolm Saville's, books, my memory is excellent.
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