Your Top Three Enid Blyton Books?

[pete9012S]

Some great choices!

I am making a reading list of other's favourites as I like the look of so many of them.

The Six Cousins are books I've only read once back in the mists of time, so I'm I'm sure I will enjoy re-reading those!

[Boodi 2]

I'm sure you will Pete, as for me they are among the very best books that Enid Blyton ever wrote, although of course everyone is different, as can be seen in the wide range of nominations for the top three Blyton books

[Anita Bensoussane]

I agree that the Six Cousins books are special. The style of writing is mature, Enid Blyton focuses on family relationships and emotions and we watch the characters develop over a period of time (including some of the adult characters).

The Boy Next Door, narrowly edged out Go Ahead, Secret Seven, which has always been my favourite SS book, and was easily the best in the series, in my opinion.

Go Ahead Secret Seven is my favourite too as it's quite dark (in both theme and setting) and the Secret Seven's locality feels thrillingly sinister. None of the Secret Seven books would make my Top Three or even my Top Ten but I have happy memories of reading them as a child and turning our shed into a meeting-place for a club which I formed with my sister and two friends.

[Irene Malory Towers]

I am really struggling here but I think my top 3 are Rubadub Mystery, The Sea of Adventure and In the 5th at Malory Towers. But if you ask me next month by top 3 might have changed. I would say I am fairly consistent on my top 10 but the top 10 books jostle for place at the top 3 depending on my mood and circumstances.

[kirstleecurry]

#1 - The Secret Island. I read it as a very young kid, and it's the one EB I probably reread every year! The idea of living on and Island and being self-sufficient was a complete dream (also note my excessive reread of Swiss Family and Robinson Crusoe!!!)

#2 - Five Get Into Trouble - I remember 'finding' this as part of an Easter hunt (my parents knew me too well! Also in the stash were Mystery to Solve and Mystery Moor!) But Trouble has always felt very atmospheric, especially in light of the early carefree section of the book juxtaposed with the much darker scenes at Owl's Dene.

#3 - It varies. As a kid, definitely Valley of Adventure (again, stranded in a remote location!!) But as an adult, probably Six Cousins ties with the Ring-O-Bells Mystery... I love farm family books, and I love Barney and Miranda...

The 5-Find-Outers are all firm favourites as well, but none stands up enough to make it top 3... May be due a reread!!!

[Aussie Sue]

Difficult choice but,

1. The Wishing-Chair again - Where else can you find naughty brownies who eat their way out of prisons made of chocolate cake, wandering castles, and brownies and pixies who change each other into horrid smells and puffs of smoke?

2. The Enchanted Wood - Jo, Bessie, Fanny, Moonface, Silky, a walking clock, a goat, and seven hens arrive at Dame Slap's School in a plane. Enough said.

3. Come to the Circus (the Fenella one) - I enjoyed the Galliano circus books but decided on this non-Galliano one-off story as No.3 in my list. It's a classic story about a girl who goes to live with her aunt and uncle in a circus and has to adapt to a whole new way of life. There's sadness in the story too.

Whilst I love all the mystery and adventure series, if I think back to my childhood then I must agree with jrw, the three you have selected really captivated me when I first discovered Enid Blyton as a young child and I read them over and over, still do. The only one that may compete I did not know of as a child, The Secret Island, which was definitely my grandchildren's favourite and I'm sure would have been my favourite if I had read it as a child.

[Wayne Pyer]

1. The Valley of Adventure
2. The Sea of Adventure
3. The Secret Island.

[Nick]

I really struggle to answer questions like this as my top 3/5/10 books are constantly changing and are often dependent on factor such as the time of year that they are read or the gap between re-reads. I could probably answert this question 5 times and produce 5 different lists! Only Five on a Hike Together would be a constant.

[Nair Snehalatha]

So very.difficult to choose as each book makes wonderful reading. Still -- after.a lot of thinking-- -- Five.get into Trouble, Secret Seven on the trail,.The mystery of the Hidden.house-- are the bestest among a whole of the bestest books. -- and that's saying something.

[Inspector Jenks]

Based upon how much I loved them at the age I read them:

The Folk of the Faraway Tree
Five Fall Into Adventure
The Island of Adventure

[Judith Crabb]

I've been puzzling as to how to answer this one until Inspector Jenks made it blindingly obvious. Based on how much I loved them when first I read them:
The Enchanted Wood
The Boys' and Girls Circus Book
The Island of Adventure

[pete9012S]

Really good top three's in all these posts.

It's interesting how many agonise over choosing their top three. Surely shows what a marvellous and varied writer Enid really was!

[StephenC]

I find it interesting that not many people pick The Rubadub Mystery in their top three. For me, The Rubadub Mystery was Enid's masterpiece, and stands out from everything else she wrote. This book had everything: treason, Cold War intrigue, betrayal, and a cast of unforgettable characters. I have read The Rubadub Mystery several times since I first read it in the late sixties, and I never get tired of rereading it.

[Anita Bensoussane]

The Rubadub Mystery may well make my Top Twenty but not my Top Three. I was taken aback when my mum read the first four Barney titles some years ago and remarked that she didn't like The Rubadub Mystery as much as the others. She said the hotel setting wasn't very exciting and the seaside town sounded too modern for her liking!

I'm always surprised that The Six Bad Boys doesn't do better in threads about people's "favourites". Enid Blyton paints a vivid and quite startling picture of how juvenile crime was dealt with and the story is beautifully structured, engaging and emotional.

[Irene Malory Towers]

I agree with StephenC - the Rubadub mystery has always been EB's masterpiece and it is as good as many adult books that I read. I never fail to get a lump in my throat when I read it. It has so much emotion but the humour prevents it being too maudlin and sentimental and a great mystery to boot. There are so many delicate touches too that add to the story - for instance Roger looking after Diane when the rough seamen bump into her, Snubby's strong insistence that Dummy is a good character, Snoek shot down the stairs with the marvellous picture capturing this (my picture) . I could wax lyrical about the strengths of this amazing book, but I will stop now !