Journal 77

[Anita Bensoussane]

...thanks to Tony for all his hard work (and for selecting the images that complement my article very well), and to my fellow-contributors.

I agree. The images that accompany the Journal articles are always excellent. Many I have never seen before, or for many years.

Yes, part of the joy of the Journal is the gorgeous artwork. Tony spends absolutely ages selecting, scanning, cleaning and arranging images but the result is well worth it!

I must say, I do enjoy reading people's thoughts and comments on each Journal, so thanks to them for taking the time to comment and share their views.

I totally agree Nigel. It is this sort of interaction and diverse feedback that truly makes me feel that I belong to a like-minded Society.

I love reading people's comments too and enjoy the feeling of "society" that the discussion generates.

'Buttercup Day' awaits, bit by bit I hope to add all the Pennant Readers apart from the first four which I don't have copies of.

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/boo ... +Readers+8

Marvelous! I'm going to read that section now!

I've been reading some more of the Pennant Readers in the Cave. I particularly like 'Eyes and No-Eyes' in Number 9 and 'House on Fire!' in Number 12. Both are thought-provoking and extremely dramatic, with a strong message. The concept of 'Eyes and No-Eyes' may have been inspired by Arabella Buckley's nature book Eyes and No Eyes, which we know Enid Blyton read (she also used the name Arabella Buckley for a character in The Naughtiest Girl is a Monitor). 'House on Fire!', about the reactions of two boys who come across a burning house, is similar to the story 'Two Children Came By', which I loved as a child when I read it in Fireside Tales (Purnell Sunshine Library).

Good luck with your move by the way, Courtenay!

[Courtenay]

Good luck with your move by the way, Courtenay!

Thanks, Anita. I'm not moving very far, only 10 miles or so, from a temporary rental arrangement to (hopefully) a long-term one. I won't drag the Journal thread off topic with it, though!

That will be fine as I still have plenty of copies of 76 and 77. Send me a new address when you are ready if you haven't changed it on PayPal.

I will do that, thank you, Tony.

[Judith Crabb]

I've now read and partly re-read journal 77 and agree with the comments above that it's a rare treat. As I also mentioned before David Chambers 'Finding Billy-Bob' is an article after my own heart. David proved himself a real life Find-Outer.
To introduce his editorial Tony uses the metaphor of the garden, so I'll use the metaphor of the feast, both appropriate of course as Enid Blyton's work celebrates the joys of real gardens and real food. Some of the 'Spring' stories which Anita selected for her article do just that.
OK. This journal is a feast. The choice of illustration is particularly inspired - and leaves me greedy for more. We get a snippet about Lewis Baumer illustrator of 'Silver and Gold' (more readily identified with books by Edith Nesbit and Mrs. Molesworth), but who is Janet E. Murray who illustrated 'Jig, Jog and Bobolinks'?
Of course, expansive and sympathetic articles with a sense of historical context on three of Blyton's most highly-regarded and widely-read series would alone make Journal 77 a winner. 'Thoughts on the Faraway Tree' by John Henstock has Blyton's own letter of 1938 introducing her new series to her Sunny Stories readers printed at the end. 'Return to Rockingdown' by John Pickup is an engagingly enthusiastic reading of one of Blyton's best novels, and 'Five go to Smuggler's Top' by Tim Venning links this gripping yarn with actual topography and excursions into the filmed versions.
To be continued....

[pete9012S]

I enjoyed reading those comments Judith, thank you.

I've now read and partly re-read journal 77 and agree with the comments above that it's a rare treat. As I also mentioned before David Chambers 'Finding Billy-Bob' is an article after my own heart. David proved himself a real life Find-Outer.

How true!

[Lenoir]

I'm sure I will receive mine soon. In the meantime I have renewed my membership as I know it is due around this time.

[Judith Crabb]

Thanks for the kind comments about my contributions to the journal. I consider that 'candid' is an excellent description for what a book review should be and I hope that my review encourages all Blyton fans to read Andrew Maunder's book. 'The Mind of a Child' is a reprint of a 1953 article by Enid Blyton illuminating her belief in the importance of providing children with reading which inculcates sound values and a rejects the violent and pernicious (which, unsurprisingly, she associates with American comics). Brer Rabbit, however, was a great favourite of hers and she both retold the old stories in a manner which made them accessible to a new generation and created new stories as Angela Canning points out in 'Brer Rabbit in the Deep South'. Angela adds a delightful retelling of her own, the wry 'The Story of the Deluge'. Ilsa Cheeseman, too, adds a sympathetic post-script to 'Five on Kirrin Island Again' and John Lester's 'Sunny Stories Through the Seasons Part I Spring' rounds off a regular feast with intimations of more to come.
How lucky are we!

[Aussie Sue]

Tony Summerfield wrote: ↑25 Mar 2022, 04:47
'Buttercup Day' awaits, bit by bit I hope to add all the Pennant Readers apart from the first four which I don't have copies of.

Tony, I can scan you copy's of 1, 3 & 4, if you can wait until end of May when I have moved into my new house & have access to my boxes.
I've never managed to come across no.2.

cheers
Sue

[Tony Summerfield]

Thanks Sue, that would be much appreciated and I am certainly in no hurry at all, so the end f May would be fine.

[Anita Bensoussane]

'The Mind of a Child' is a reprint of a 1953 article by Enid Blyton...

Out of interest, do you know where the other piece was published, Judith? I know that a longer version of the article (with the title 'Children's Reading') appeared in St. Martin's Review No. 758, May 1954, so it seems that the article had an outing in a number of publications, with adjustments being made according to the length required.

[Judith Crabb]

At first I didn't understand your question, Anita, then realized that lack of clarity on my part is the problem. When I wrote that 'The Mind of a Child' is a reprint I meant that Tony has reprinted it in Journal 77. By writing something so obvious I made what I wrote unclear (even to myself). I should have said 'The Mind of a Child' by Blyton herself...'.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Ah, I see now! Sorry for being a bit dozy.

[Moonraker]

After reading these last posts a few times, I now understand them!

[Boodi 2]

Having just spent a pleasant hour reading the articles in the journal that I saved until the end I felt that I would really have to comment as they were brilliant. Mind you, I don't think it is a case of "leaving the best wine until the end" as all the other articles were great reads too. However, I especially enjoyed "Enid Blyton and the School of Authorship", "Return to Rockingdown" and "Five Go To Smuggler's Top". I found the comparison of Roger to Larry Daykin in "Return to Rockingdown" interesting, as he really is "overshadowed" by the other three characters, although I always remember his witty response to his father's question: "Don't they teach you manners at school?", which still makes me chuckle!!! Many thanks to all the contributors to Journal 77 and already looking forward to Journal 78!

[Lenoir]

My copy arrived today. It was slightly damp around the edges because the postbox isn't weatherproof, but it soon dried out.
Looking forward to reading it.

[Lucky Star]

Poor Lenoir. You always have the longest wait for your Journal. On the bright side Journal 77 is well worth waiting for I assure you.