Clicking on the following links or images will take you to the Enid Blyton book collections covered in this section:
Commentary:
Enid Blyton was without doubt my favorite writer during my childhood, and I think this is also true for many of my peers who grew up on the Indian subcontinent in the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. She wrote so many different types of books that from the age of six until the early teens, you could always find an Enid Blyton book appropriate to your age which brought pleasure into your life.
Enid Blyton wrote over 750 books, and she is unquestionably the bestselling children’s author of all time. Although some critics called her writing unimaginative and lacking literary merit, this has mattered not a whit to the legions of young fans who have been enjoying her books for nearly a hundred years. Amazingly, her popularity continues nearly unabated among young readers even a half-century after her death in 1968.
In addition to being prolific, Enid Blyton was very versatile and she wrote books of high quality in many different genres. I have selected about 200 of her books for inclusion on this site, and these can be classified into two broad categories: (a) mystery/adventure novels (mostly for older children 10-13), and (b) fantasy/family stories (mostly for younger children 6-9).
Mystery/Adventure Novels
Of all the mystery/adventure novels Enid Blyton wrote, The Famous Five series is the best known. There are twenty-one books in the series (plus a short-story collection) and they are all enjoyable. However, my personal favorites in this category are the fifteen Five Find-Outers novels. They have ingenious plotting and great characterization, on par with many adult novels. The Secret Seven series is the third in this category, and these fifteen novels are shorter and targeted towards a slightly younger audience than the first two series.
Enid Blyton wrote many other mystery/adventure novels with recurring characters. Of these, perhaps the most well-known is the series of six Barney Mystery novels. Then there is the ‘Adventure’ series (eight books) as well as the ‘Secret’ series (five books). Rounding out the list are the three novels in the ‘Circus’ series as well as a few standalone novels.
Fantasy/Family Stories
Enid Blyton was a master in writing tales of enchantment, i.e., novels and short stories about magic, fantasy and mythology. She created many engaging characters in her stories such as talking toys and animals, a variety of fairy folk (pixies, brownies, elves, gnomes, goblins, trolls, etc.) and many other mythical creatures from folklore. Reading her stories takes one back to the delightful childhood memories of escaping from the drudgery of schoolwork to a magical and enchanting world created by her fertile imagination.
One of Enid Blyton’s most beloved set of books for young children is the Noddy series. Unlike most of her other fairy-tale collections, the Noddy books are beautifully illustrated in color (by Harmsen Van der Beek and other artists).
My favorite Enid Blyton short stories are the ones featuring Brer Rabbit. Although Enid Blyton did not create the character, she breathed new life into it by creating a whole new world of ‘Brer’ critters interacting with each other. I particularly enjoyed the tales in which Brer Rabbit matches wits with Brer Fox or Brer Wolf and comes out on top every time. These highly entertaining stories never failed to brighten my day. It’s no wonder that Enid Blyton wrote more stories about Brer Rabbit than about any other character.
Finally, there are a set of miscellaneous short stories and novels which were collected in the Dean Rewards series (along with many of the tales of enchantment described above). These books collected the best Enid Blyton stories and they were always a joy to read. I wanted to read each and every one of the Dean Rewards books, but was able to get my hands on just a small fraction of them.
Every Enid Blyton book listed here is a delectable treat. It is worth reading a few of the stories even now as an adult, to bring back the beautiful memories of a more innocent age.