Time for a Story!

Who can forget The Famous Five, Noddy, The Faraway Tree, Malory Towers, and The Naughtiest Girl?

But did you know that she wrote more than 800 books in her lifetime, making her one of the most prolific authors of all time?

Born in London in 1897, she trained as a teacher and in 1918 went to work in a boys’ prep school in Kent before becoming a private governess. In the 1920s she began to write for Teacher’s World magazine and also authored educational books. Her first foray into fiction was a very slim volume of poetry published in 1922, but it was 1938 before her first full length novel for children was published.

During the 40s and 50s Enid wrote prolifically, it wasn’t uncommon for her to write and publish 20+ books in a single year - as an author myself I stand in awe of anyone that can be so creative, so consistently.

Tragically, by the late 1950s, it became apparent that Enid was suffering from dementia. She passed away in a nursing home in 1968 at the relatively young age of 71. I can only speculate, but I expect that without dementia, she may well have continued to write and create her stories well into her 80s and beyond.

Enid’s stories were very much a product of the times in which she lived, they are very white, very middle class, and she expressed attitudes towards race that cannot be condoned in the 21st century. But at their heart, they are cracking good stories that appeal to children even today.

I’m pleased to read that many of her books are being reissued with minor modifications. The original language, which is so appealing to young readers, is being retained whilst words and themes that are not in keeping with today are being subtly changed.

Many of the books have been adapted into TV series and films around the world, and apparently, an Enid Blyton book is sold at the rate of one every minute! In total, over 500 million copies of her books have been sold globally…I bet she didn’t see that coming when she released her first volume of poetry.

Books and reading were a huge part of my childhood and I’m so pleased that my 2 year old grandson seems to be equally as enamoured with the written word. Sadly, not all children are so captivated by books, preferring TV, mobile phones, and online games instead.

They miss so much by not reading. They never get to feel the excitement, the delayed gratification of turning the pages to the next scene. Their imaginations are not fired. They miss out on the joy of sitting peacefully with a book, seeing the story unfold in their head.

If you have children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, do them a favour - buy them a book…please!