A blue and a yellow hardback, short stories

[Belly]

I remember having two Purnell (?) hardbacks in the earlyish (?) to mid 1970s. Would be very grateful if anyone can give me any pointers, thanks!:

One book yellow and one pale to mid blue and hardback
The books had pictures of children on the front I think
They were short stories aimed at 5-6 year olds? Maybe just a little older too?
They were gripping - not the 'baby' fairy story type (although could have been some fairy stories in there)
They were called something like: 'Happy Stories for Children' or something & one was a different theme but related - 'Sleepy stories' or similar? Not sure.

One of the stories featured different types of birds/a bird table?
They seemed more modern than some compilations
Possibly the 'Father Time' story was amongst them (the one when children see the pattern of their lives in sliver and darker thread depending on whether they've been good or bad) but can't swear to it.

Thanks, sorry I know it's a tall order!

[Anita Bensoussane]

It sounds as if your books may have come from the Purnell Sunshine Library, Belly, all sixteen of which can be seen in the Cave:

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/shor ... llsunshine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As you can see, Little Animal Stories is the only one that is yellow but there are several blue ones. Hopefully, seeing the covers might jog your memory. There are a couple with "Happy" in the title.

"Father Time and His Pattern Book" isn't to be found in any of the Purnell titles, though it did appear in the Dean&Son Sunshine Book. Very few stories appeared in both the Dean & Son books and the Purnell Sunshine Library, a notable exception being "Connie's Curious Candle" which can be found in Stories for Bedtime (Dean & Son) and Sleepyland Stories (Purnell).

Holiday Stories has a couple of stories about bird tables - "Freddie Has a Job" and "A Visitor to Dinner."

Hope this is of some help!

Anita

[Belly]

Wonderful Anita, it was Little Animal Stories! And the blue one I recognise too. Should have gone to Cave of Books as first port of call. Didn't realise they were Purnell until someone else mentioned the name recently and it jogged my memory! Thanks so much .

Did you have any of these as a child? My mother must have bought these for me I think.

[Lucky Star]

The Purnell Sunshine Library books were my first introduction to Enid Blyton and almost my first introduction to reading. I still have two or three of my old copies at home in my parents house, what a nostalgia to flip through them again.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I loved the Purnell Sunshine Library books and had most of them as a young child, collecting the remaining ones as an adult. They weren't my very first introduction to Enid Blyton (Mr. Pink-Whistle's Party was my first Blyton book) but they were still some of my earliest Blytons. I received the first half a dozen one Christmas when I was nearly five. I still have them and each one has the same inscription inside - "To Anita, Love Auntie Janet and Uncle Graham, Xmas 1974." Wonderful books full of heartwarming stories and thought-provoking cautionary tales. I lapped them up eagerly and was left hungry for more! Little Animal Stories was one of the books I received that Christmas and I particularly liked the following stories: "Brer Rabbit's Strange Flower," "Benjy, Benjy, Benjy!", "The Cat Who Cut Her Claws," "The Sneezing Dog" and "The Girl With Whiskers."

My children also enjoyed the Purnell books when they were younger.

By the way, which of the blue books is the one you remember, Belly? I'm just curious!

Anita

[Belly]

Bedtime Stories . I remember one story about a very spoilt doll? I wonder if that was 'The Talking Doll'?

I had this one and The Animal Stories one like you. I remember the girl with whiskers too!

Might be an idea to try to get some copies for my daughter. Which of them are good ones/would you recommend? Not sure what Blyton etc I should expose my 4.5 year old daughter to as yet? I am hoping that both mine develop a passion for reading, they already have far more books than I ever had!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I think almost any of Enid Blyton's short stories are great for that age, Belly, and the Purnell Sunshine Library books would be ideal. As a child I loved Every Day Stories, Goodnight Stories, Fireside Tales and Funtime Tales but it's just a question of personal preference really. Stories about naughty children who got their come-uppance were my favourites!

Anita

[Rob Houghton]

One of my first ever Blyton storybooks was a Purnell sunshine library storybook: 'Fireside Tales'. Some of my favourite stories from it were 'The Poisonous Berries' 'Two Children came By' and 'It Came Back to Him in the End' in which Tom gets punished because of things he failed to do, starting off a long chain of events. I tended to like the stories where the 'silly' children got punished and the sensible ones were rewarded!

'Fireside Tales' was the first book I owned, along with the Dean 'Storytime book', which contained another favourite story: 'The Magic treacle Jug'.

Most of my Enid Blyton's were owned by my older sister, so I felt very grown-up to have two of my own, and promptly proved it by colouring in some of the pictures!!

[Belly]

Thanks Robert and Anita!