Customer Reviews

Faraway Tree Stories: " Enchanted Wood " , " Magic Faraway Tree " and " Folk of the Faraway Tree "

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just received my copy of this book today.

I grew up with the Enid Blyton stories (in Australia) and adored the Faraway Tree collection.

My only problem with this collection is that it has been updated for "political correctness". No more Jo, Bessie and Fanny - it's Joe, Beth and Frannie. No [...] it's Rick. Saddest of all, no more Dame Slap. Nope, instead of slapping (from my quick glance at the book) she makes Rick put his hands on his head and stand in the corner. It's a bit of a shame we live in an age where people won't accept a classic story for what it is and need to change the author's own words for political correctness.
However, this being said. I think every child in America would benefit from these highly imaginitive stories from a wonderful author. To me, Enid Blyton is as good as J.K. Rowling (and I LOVE Harry Potter books too).
I'm sure my 3 daughters will love these stories as they get older, just as much as I did, and still do.

I have to say that I absolutely loved the faraway tree books and look forward to reading them to my own children. I have read lots of children's books but these ones by far stand out in my mind as my favourite of all. They are imaginative and exciting and just such a joy to read. I honestly can't say enough wonderful things about them except maybe just as an example tell you that I wore the pages of these books down to the point that they became rather unrecognisable (lol) because I read them over and over again. They take you to a time when innocence still existed and exploring the woods was still a very normal source of fun for a child. Enjoy!!
(Other books linked to the characters are "the wishing chair" and "the wishing chair again"

I think the only reason I became an avid reader was because I was introduced to Enid Blyton books as a child. Born and raised in the tropics(part of the British Empire at one time), I found it hard to believe that I coudn't find them easily at bookstores here in the USA when I wanted to buy them for my daughter. I would say the first books I chose to pick up for her to read were the Wishing Chair series and the Faraway Tree series. I think they really represent what Enid Blyton's books are all about. Her books are not only imaginative and entertaining they contain good values and an appreciation of nature. For those children who are not ready for spine tinglers and chillers, her fairy tales create a warm, comforting setting with just the right touches of fun and humor to encourage even the most reluctant of readers to continue turning pages and asking for more. My daughter and I have since collected over 250 of her books. This year, I donated extra copies that I owned to her elementary school because I really believe that her books can reach out to any reluctant reader. My daughter said that she even found teachers reading them during their spare time. If you have spare copies of her books, please consider donating them to schools. Most school libraries are rarely able to obtain them.

I agree with Veronika that it is a shame that the book was changed. I am a teacher and read the original to a class and every child wanted the book. I ordered them copies from Amazon in the UK and the children were very disappointed with the new names, etc. They loved the book, however, and most of them read their copy many times and/or their parents read it to them. The four stars is for this edition, not the original. If you can get a copy of the original (used) I highly recommend it. There are some things in the original that I would recommend discussing. An example of this is Dame Slap and why we, hopefully, wouldn't see her slapping a student today and why.

I grew up with The Faraway Tree Stories. The whole idea of a tree that goes on and on, kind of like Jack's Beanstock, is intriguing to me. The children in the story have all kinds of interesting adventures in this magical tree, and meet some unforgetable characters. This is great reading for 7 to 10 year olds.

Author of many other great children stories (Famous Five and Noddy), Enid Blyton has produced this marvellous read. Being ranked numbe 66 in BBC Top Read, this book is both captivating, creative and above all, fun to read. I read this book when I was in Grade 2, and I just brought it to revive my childhood memories, if there's any book you want you and your children to share, this is the book.

This book can only be put into these words- simply amazing! This book is all about 3 kids who have their lives turned upside down when they stumble across the amazing Faraway Tree!I have read the original book of The Faraway Tree and I liked the names better however that doesn't mean that you shouldn't get it! This book is a MUST HAVE! So get it!

I first read the Faraway Tree Stories when I was eight years old and I completely fell in love with them. These are such beautifully written, wonderful, enchanting, and imaginative stories for children. I would definitely recommend these stories to any parent of young children. The language is simple, and the books are broken up into small chapters with a little adventure in each one, which means they'd be appropriate for a wide variety of ages.

The only reason I am giving this version four stars instead of five is because of the updates made to the book in the name of political correctness. The other commenters are pretty much spot on with what they have said. I think a simple conversation with children explaining the differences in the time the book was written(the names, Dame slap, etc) would be much better than changing the stories themselves. I would still recommend picking up this version if you can't find an older one. There's no reason to miss out on these wonderful stories!

This and many other Enid Blyton books where read to me and I also read as a child, I bought this and others for my grandchildren who absolutely love them. The stories are very imaginative and if you have even a spark of imagination the characters are so real you can make up all sorts of stories based on the characters after you have finished the book. When you have finished reading it the kids always want more!

I read this chapter book as a bed time story to my then 5 year old twins.
They really liked the different worlds at the top of the tree.
It was one of my favourites as a kid.