Thanks very much for posting these, Tony! It's fascinating to see how differently each of these modern illustrators tackle a Famous Five front cover. The Shirley Hughs front cover for
Five On Kirrin Island Again is really nice. I really love the excellent skill used in creating the fabulous 'stormy-sea' effect in the background. The portrayal of the children is OK, but nothing special in my point of view. The
Five Fall Into Adventure one is ridiculous. The children look like mice with their stupid tiny noses and Timmy looks like an oversized rat! And then onto
Five Get Into Trouble: perhaps my soft spot for this one is due to the story being my favourite Enid Blyton book, but I really do like a lot of the aspects about this illustrators style. Everything is so atmospheric and chilling - with the moon illuminating the scene with a sinister effect, and outlining the classic iron gates. The children, in my point of view are a subtle and welcoming modernization. And though George doesn't look her best with a seemingly misshapen head, the others look very worthy of the title: Famous Five. Hmmm - just stopped Timmy... looking rather like a rabbit...