Title: The Enchanted Wood

Author: Enid Blyton

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 185

Rating: 7/10

Enid Blyton – The Enchanted Wood

I used to love Enid Blyton as a kid, although I mainly read her Faraway Tree and Wishing Chair series. There was something about the escapism it offered, and The Enchanted Wood has escapism in abundance.

Take (pun intended) the land of Take-What-You-Want, a mystical place where everything is free and if you see something you want, you can take it. As a kid, I always wanted to visit this land and to find a room full of computer games and musical instruments. If only reality was as interesting as the ever-changing landscape at the top of the Faraway Tree.

Unfortunately, the Faraway Tree books are often seen as old-fashioned in a world where children read The Gruffalo (if they even read at all). While the novel itself isn’t dated, the characters are – ‘Jo‘ is a name that we can all relate to, but ‘Bessie‘ and ‘Fanny‘? Give that name to a modern child and their infant life will be made miserable by playground bullies.

Enid Blyton

Click here to buy The Enchanted Wood.