It was very good, but for some reason, it just didn't seem to capture my imagination as much as some other children's books that I've read. Maybe it's because I just came off of reading a couple of Roald Dahl books that are just so edgy and humorous that The Enchanted Wood seemed bland in comparison. ( )

The Enchanted Wood (#1) by Enid Blyton is a children’s classic fantasy originally published in 1939. I was able to find a 2002 uncensored copy to read FREE online at BooksVooks.com. What a precious and creative story! You have three siblings: Jo, Bessie and the youngest Fanny who’s family is moving from the city to the country. They are excited because they discover an “enchanted” forest at the back edge of their property.

The story is focused around the Faraway Tree, so named because, as it is the tallest tree in the forest, it reaches beyond the clouds and the world above it is constantly changing to different fantasy lands. The kids discover and eventually befriend all the inhabitants of the tree...pixies, fairies, and, of course, the happy, go-lucky Moon-Face. At the top of the tree is a ladder that allows entry through a hole in the cloud and into the wild and unpredictable, forever changing fantasy lands. Each day or week, or even just a few hours, the land above changes, potentially locking you in until it would eventually come around again to the Faraway Tree. Some fantasy lands are good and some are bad. In either case, the kids were on an unforgettable adventure with their new forest friends every time they entered the forest and climbed the tree.

NOTES ON CENSORSHIP OF BOOK

I have not verified and compare today's version with the original, but, apparently, cancel culture has got a hold of this book. The author has been labeled a sexist, homophobe and racist and many changes have been made to her book. The names of the characters have been changed from Fanny to Franny, and Dame Slap to Dame Snap, who doesn’t go around slapping the naughty pixies and fairies in the school of discipline for all their wrongs on one of the fantasy lands that Jo, Bessie, Fanny and their forest friends were trapped in for a little while.

‘Some' don't now appreciate the way the brother, Jo [not Joe], who was also apparently the oldest of the three children, seemed always to be in charge of his two sisters. Being the oldest, why wouldn’t he be more responsible for his two sister’s well-being. Is this why she's now marked as a sexist?

‘Some' feel the youngest sister was fat shamed for helping herself to too many toffees "because she was a very greedy girl"...as most young kids are when face to face with delicious candy. I have 10 grandchildren, and I have to put my foot down all the time and say, "That's enough!" No shame there. That's just the nature of kids. Yes. They are all greedy with candy and want more and more!

Okay. So she used the word "queer" a few times. But, she always used it in the right context. The true, original meaning of queer means 'odd' or 'strange'. The author spoke of some of the fantasy lands as being queer...because they were (very strange). The Saucepan Man, with all of the pots and pans attached to his body, was one queer man (odd, strange). There is absolutely nothing suggestively evil by her use of the word queer. The author also talked about “crackers” that had legs and were playing chase with the kids and forest friends in one of the fantasy lands. When caught, they would pop, kind of like a firecracker, and expose a prize inside. The crackers were laughing and happy and so, yes, she used the word “gay crackers” (Chp. XXIX, p. 127). I sure hope these two words used in their proper context weren't the conditions for calling her a homophobe. More ridiculousness!

As the two sisters and Moon-Face take a train to Goldilocks and the three bears home for help in saving their brother from Snowman and the white polar bears in one of the fantasy lands, they passed through three train stations: Golliwog, Crosspatch and Bear stations. GOLLIWOG* is the issue. The author writes: "...three golliwogs got into their carriage and stared at them very hard. One was so like Bessie's own golly at home that she couldn't help staring back." (Chp. IX, p. 38 in online edition). Hmmm...Now, I would say this right here might actually be a bit racist, and it doesn’t really add to the story at all. MAYBE, that would be the only thing partially justified to be removed from this children’s classic fantasy book. The other option is to not buy the book for your child OR maybe be encouraged to write your own book. But, I don’t agree with making so many changes to any author’s work. Otherwise, everything in the novel, as it is only fantasy, is a great reading adventure for all young readers.

*GOLLIWOG - This is the first I ever heard of a golliwog. I had to Duck Duck Go the meaning of the word. Golliwogs were fabric rag dolls depicting images of black people: black body, frizzy hair, wide black eyes with white rings, and big red lips. It was created by cartoonist, Florence Kate Upton, in the late 19th century. After World War II, the doll became popular and was a substitute for the soft teddy bear for a short period of time, but then later was considered racist. ( )

I think I would have enjoyed an original version of this much better. I don’t like the illustrations, they’re too modern and not particularly nice. This is childhood viewed through very rose coloured glasses but lots of magical fun. ( )

Originally published in 1939, Enid Blyton was an early writer of tween fantasy. Jo, Bessie and Fanny are three kids who move from the town to the countryside that borders on a mysterious wood. While exploring in between daily chores, they discover brownies, pixies and elves, and a magical tree containing all sorts of characters. What really makes the tree magical is the various lands that can be accessed at the top of the tree, and we follow the three kids on various adventures in these places. A bit tame and out of date for today's readers. ( )

This gets a high score from me, mainly because at the age of about 10 or 11 this series started me off being interested in books. My head flew up in to that magical land, and even now I can remember the characters and some of the stories that took me to, well, Faraway places. Thank you, Enid, for starting my journey. ( )

The first magical Faraway Tree story, The Enchanted Wood, was first published in Great Britain in 1939. The paperback edition that I read was published in 2014. I loved the main characters, Joe, Beth and Frannie, in this magical and inspiring story.
The three children, living in a town, suddenly find themselves living in the country, and right next door to an Enchanted Wood. They fully embrace their new situation and it's not long before they discover the Faraway Tree, with its many different lands.
Joe, Beth and Frannie discover a magical new world with their new friends. Moon-Face has an exciting slippery-slip, The funny old Saucepan Man has lots of pots and pans, and Silky The Fairy, has an amazing walking clock!
There are lots of fantastic characters and adventures to enjoy in this delightful book.
It's highly entertaining and great fun too! I recommend this book for young children and for anyone who loves reading magical children's stories!


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Steph B. recommended

Joe, Beth, and Frannie are delighted to move from the city to the country, and even more delighted to find that their new cottage is near the Enchanted Wood, which contains the Faraway Tree, pathway to many wonderful lands, new friends, and adventure. Any time their parents can spare them from housework and garden work, the three of them are off to visit with their friends Moon-Face and Silky (a fairy), Saucepan Man, and several others. At the top of the Faraway Tree there is ladder which leads to a series of rotating lands; some wonderful (the land of take-what-you-like, birthday land, etc.), some rather more frightening (the rocking land). The children even visit Santa, when they accidentally get made into toys and want to be changed back. They survive all their adventures and return home safely, though there are some close calls!

See also: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit, Half Magic by Edward Eager, The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Brown ( )

I want to go to the Land of Take-What-You-Want. ( )

The Enchanted Wood was absolutely one of my favorite books when I was younger. I haven't read it in a while, but I just noticed it on my shelf and thought I'd go for it and review them. Who wouldn't want to find a magic tree that has a magic land at the top which switches periodically? I could practically quote large sections of this book from memory, and I have to say that to this day, if I could pick anywhere to have a birthday party, I would pick Birthday Land. No question.

When I was at the prime age for reading the Faraway Tree series we couldn't get any of the sequals (turns out that outside of Switzerland - where my parents bought our copy of Faraway Tree - they're pretty hard to get!), and I didn't get them until one memorable Christmas a few years later when I received not only the two other Faraway Tree books, but the Magical Rocking Chair (or whatever it's called), too! I remember enjoying seeing the kids again, but it was the first book that won my heart. Faraway Tree is full of fairies, mean old ladies, giants, and more. But the children are at the heart of the story, those delightful little kids who found the tree on a picnic and had lots of adventures while their parents smiled and waved them off from behind (yes, it's that kind of book). But they also did their chores, even getting held back from going to the tree because they have to work in the garden, etc. At one point they go to a great big market with almost everything, and besides a few more quirky purchases they obtain a new garden spade and a goat for their mother. They aren't the generic Mary Sue, but they are sweet, dutiful children who made me secretly yearn to live in a little cottage near a big forest.

And Moon Face. Who can forget Moon Face? Or Sylvia? I loved the characters so much when I was younger, and I'm just now thinking about them for the first time in years. These books probably fed my love of reading more than almost any other book (besides Narnia, my first love). Give them to your daughters, your sons, your nieces and nephews. As soon as they can read, offer this book to them. Please.

And read it yourself while you're at it!

This review is also on my blog, at http://ireadtilldawn.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-faraway-tree-by-edith-blyton-1939.... ( )

This was one of my very favourite childhood books when I was about six. I re-read it in my teens. I read it to my sons when they were small. Just recently, I read it aloud to a five-year-old friend. Unfortunately I've lost my original hardback version, but picked up a paperback edition at a charity shop some years ago.

Jo, Bessie and Fanny are three children from a fairly poor family who move to the country with their parents, and discover the magical Faraway Tree with its unusual inhabitants, and a variety of strange lands at the top of the tree. Each story takes place over about four or five chapters, and has some suspense but not much.

The plots are nicely done, the characterisation less so, but perhaps that doesn't matter too much in a plot-driven book. The adventures are certainly unusual, and if some of the language seems remarkably old-fashioned, that's not really surprising for a seventy-year-old book.

Just about everyone my age who loves reading as an adult started out on Enid Blyton, so I hope her books remain in print for many years to come. ( )

I loved this series as a child and have recently reread this book.
Three children move to the countryside and find that the wood behind their house is magical, the Faraway Tree is a tree that leads to a different land each time the children climb it, some lands are nice some are not. A good and imaginative adventure story for children of all ages. ( )

I read this as a child, and my 4 year old son found my copy recently and asked me to read it to him. It's the story of three children (Jo, Bessie and Fanny, ages between about 10 and 6) in the late 1930s (I think) who, through their parent's reduced circumstances are forced to go and live in the countryside. As they explore their locale they find the Enchanted Wood, populated by talking animals and brownies, and the Faraway Tree. The tree houses interesting characters like Moon-Face and Silky, Dame Washalot and Mr Whatsizname, and at the very top different magical lands rotate and the children make friends and visit those who live there, and of course have adventures unencumbered by pesky parental supervision. I loved that sort of thing as a child, and it's very imaginative and gripped my son despite the lack of pictures.

What's interesting, reading it as an adult, is the language ('queer' meaning strange is the most common adjective in the book), and the middle-class arrogance of the children which I didn't notice as a child in the late 70s/early 80s. Frankly they are often rude and disagreeable, and have imperious, snooty, entitled attitudes I wouldn't want my son to notice. In general I don't think it's necessary to update the language in historical books for today's kids really as when I read older books as a child I found that to be part of the fun. But I did have to do some on-the-spot rewording to avoid too much talk of teachers walloping children, and the inevitable Blyton love of golliwogs as he's too young to appreciate that it was written in a different time.

I do still recommend these stories though for a slightly older reader who will enjoy the 'independent child' aspect and can comprehend the outdated language and attitudes. ( )

A very original book where old mythology has been modified by a fertile imagination to give us a magical story. The book is about Jo, Bessie, and Fannie who move in a village with their quite nebulous parents.

Then the kids - after their chores - begin to explore the Enchanted Wood. The king of all the trees there is the Faraway Tree, at whose top adventures await the children. There are magical folk living in the tree trunk and they come to know the children and they participate to varying degrees in the unpredictable adventures in whatever land that lies temporarily at the top of the tree. This is an adaptation begging to be made. It would be glorious if Disney animated this startling book. ( )

Absolutely stellar book ( )