Can you believe it? Enid Blyton’s “Famous Five books are 70 years old, and still growing strong.
In commemoration of one of this much loved children’s authors best known series of books, a special limited edition is being created, with the first four books in the series being released on 3rd May 2012.
The books can be pre-ordered, and each book has been illustrated by a well known artist (see here for more details).
My friend, the author Mary Russel, writes books for kids. Yep – my friend Mary, the author. Well, I’ve never met her in person, but we’ve been online friends for a couple of years now.
I remember rejoicing with her when her first published book became available at both Amazon and Borders. (Yeah, so much for Borders, but Amazon is still with us.) That book was was Flickertail and Paint, Barnyard Sleuths, and it was written for the eight to twelve year old group of young readers.
Now, Mary’s second, third, and fourth books have been published. And these three are for ages 13 years and up.
It just seems incredible to me for someone to have four books published in the space of a couple of years, but that’s what Mary has accomplished. I am so proud for her.
This lady really is an inspiration to me, so I thought it only fitting that I should make a lens about her and her books.
And guess what? Mary herself visited the lens, and left me a lovely comment paying me a great compliment. Here’s part of what she wrote on my lens:
. . . this is so thoughtful of you and what a fabulous job you have done. I should have you write my book summaries for my book covers. Concise, accurate, and compelling.
That really made me feel good - for a published author to pay a compliment to my writing! After all, it is SHE who is the author, not me. I just managed to pay halfway decent attention in school most days, that’s all.
Thank you so much, Mary!
Here’s the link to the lens, where you can get a glimpse of what her books are all about, and see the rest of what she said – Children’s Author Mary Russel’s Books for Kids .
When my Grandson was growing up, he was always curious about how things work. That’s probably why he absolutely loved his copy of The Way Things Work, by David Macaulay.
Well,. here’s some good news. Today’s children can grow up with an updated copy of the same book. It’s called the New Way Things Work. (Also by David Macaulay, of course)
This profusely illustrated book is probably the best kids book about how things work that you will find.
Everything in the book is well researched, and the drawings by Macaulay are just incredible. He is generally accepted to be one of the very best pen and ink illustrators alive today, so you know they are good. And accurate, too!
The fun bonus is a silly wooly mammoth that lumbers his way through the pages, to the delight of young readers.
Even if your child is younger than the 9 to 12 age range recommended by the publisher for this book, get it anyway. YOU will appreciate it! When your son or daughter asks exactly how a can opener works, or email, or some other modern marvel, the book will be a big help to you. That is, until they are old enough for you to turn it over to them. Then, they will eagerly look up the answers to their many questions themselves.
Now, there’s even a companion game to the book. How lucky is that?
For more information about this book and other nonfiction books for kids who have lots of questions, visit:
And, for even younger children with a lot of curiosity, see Nonfiction Books for Kids Ages 4 to 8.
Children in the UK and most parts of the British Commonwealth growing up anywhere between the 1940′s and today will be aware of Enid Blyton, who was the J.K. Rowling of OUR day.
Enid was a prolific writer, publishing over 800 children’s books during her 40 years writing career.
Many of her books were in series, the best known being Noddy, The Secret Seven, The Famous Five, The Adventure Series, The Wishing Chair and The Faraway Tree.
To read a book by Enid Blyton the reader becomes totally absorbed in the adventure that the characters are having, and this is what I found when I used to read her Famous Five series. I loved to explore ruined castles on deserted islands, to go off on camping holidays, and to get involved in all kinds of mysteries.
I only found out several years ago that Enid used to visit the area of Dorset on the South Coast of England where I grew up, and it was places here that provided the setting for locations in a number of her books.
I just completed my lens about Enid Blyton, which I hope is worthy of a Purple Star award if not Lens Of The Day, and I invite you to come and learn more about this fascinating author of children’s books.