Young adults, old childrenĪnd this may be the reason why the film industry seems to be showing an ever-increasing interest in adapting some of the old classics of children’s fantasy. Many of my students mention them – they bring back fond memories of supernatural creatures, childish mischief and a colourful world of magic now lost. The lands are always different on each visit, and can be fantastically fun or incredibly unpleasant.Īll books in the series are episodic and employ a number of stock creatures from folklore and fairy-tales, and revel in humour and onomatopoeia. These alternative worlds are reached via the enormous Faraway tree, which acts as a portal (like the wardrobe that leads to Narnia). In the books, Jo, Bessie and Fanny stray away from adult supervision to find exciting adventures in a series of magical lands. Generations of readers have grown up engrossed in novels such as The Princess and the Goblin, Peter Pan, The Hobbit and the Narnia books.īlyton’s Magic Faraway Tree series includes four books, written between 19. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland paved the way for a series of timeless classics. This is a genre that began in earnest during the “golden age” of children’s literature in the Victorian era. Blyton’s facile plots and language make these books particularly suitable to be read in different languages without much being lost in translation. Although I grew up in Greece, even I have memories of reading book after the book of the Famous Five adventures (of which, it was announced earlier this summer, a film series is also planned).

Her zenith was 1955, a year in which she produced an incredible 70 titles. But her books have also often been labelled racist, sexist, classist, easy reading for the very young, and mass-produced. She had a prolific writing career, phenomenal selling success, and the popularity of her books shows no signs of waning. Enid Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree is only the latest children’s classic destined for the silver screen, with a live action film currently in production.Įnid Blyton is one of those children’s authors that everyone recognises, yet many love to hate. Children’s fantasy has become a lucrative global industry, and duly producers are plumbing all kinds of magical authors.

The magic faraway tree