Turns out that the first eight books are the short stories made into books with large print and illustrations - but they've also added some books that aren't based on Blyton.
I'm still not sure if I think it is a good idea to maybe make the short stories more interesting for younger children or if I think it's just a clever way to make money - the printed books (each containing just one short story) cost 9€. The stories seem to be translations into modern German, nothing is added, the odd sentence or half sentence is omitted.
You can have a look at them on the publisher's website. The first eight books in the Junior-series are the short stories but the titles given in the descriptions aren't always correct. This is the correct assignment:
- Fünf Freunde JUNIOR - Der unsichtbare Dieb (The invisible thief) - Five Have a Puzzling Time
- Fünf Freunde JUNIOR - Die Suche nach dem Rennpferd (The search for the racing horse) - Well done, Famous Five!
- Fünf Freunde JUNIOR - Den Räubern auf der Spur (On the track of the robbers) - A lazy afternoon
- Fünf Freunde JUNIOR - Unser Timmy ist der Beste (Our Timmy is the best) - Five and a half-term adventure
- Fünf Freunde JUNIOR - Ein aufregender Waldausflug (An exciting trip to the woods) - George’s Hair is Too Long
- Fünf Freunde JUNIOR - Das Geheimnis der alten Villa (The secret of the old villa) - When Timmy chased the cat!
- Fünf Freunde JUNIOR - Die verschwundenen Weihnachtspäckchen (The vanished christmas packages) - Happy Christmas, Five!
- Fünf Freunde JUNIOR - Timmy, der Meisterdetektiv (Timmy, the master detective) - Good old Timmy
On amazon.de you can look into the kindle edition (click onto "Blick ins Buch" next to the cover that is offered once you've chosen one of the books).
The illustrations aren't my favorite but I think they're pretty decent for modern illustrations.
It's interesting that they left English names like "Windy Hill" - not that I mind but I'm surprised, especially as the books are aimed at younger children. The readers will probably also wonder why a watch stops when it isn't wound up .