Five on a Treasure Island (Famous Five Classic) [Paperback]

Enid Blyton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Famous Five Classic

The very first Famous Five adventure, featuring Julian, Dick, Anne, not forgetting tomboy George and her beloved dog, Timmy! There's a shipwreck off Kirrin Island! But where is the treasure? The Famous Five are on the trail - looking for clues - but they're not alone! Someone else has got the same idea. Time is running out for the Famous Five, who will follow the clues and get to the treasure first? These classic editions feature Enid Blyton's unchanged text and Eileen A. Soper's original illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Enid Blyton died in 1968 but remains one of the best-known and best-loved writers of children's stories. She is consistently voted a children's favourite in author polls. She has over 600 children's books to her credit, including the Famous Five series, the Secret Seven series, the Naughtiest Girl series - all Hodder - and the Malory Towers and St Clare's series, both available from Hodder on audio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (March 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340681063
• ISBN-13: 978-0340681060
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The adventure that started it all, September 8, 2006

By 

Darren Harrison "DVD collector and reviewer" (Washington D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five on a Treasure Island (Famous Five) (Paperback)

The Famous Five novels by Enid Blyton are a British institution in the United Kingdom and occupy a place in the bookshelves of nearly every self-respecting pre-teen. When I was growing up in the UK I devoured all the Blyton books I could get a hold of and then went onto her Secret Seven and (my all-time favorite) Adventure series.
The format for the books is essentially the same - a band of children get into a series of adventures thwarting criminals and solving mysteries. It's like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, but imbued with that classic British idiom and that fast-paced, expertly crafted Blyton style that give it an edge over her American counterparts.
The success of the formula is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that the majority of the Blyton books I read were handed down to me from my mother who had received them as a child herself in the 1940s and 1950s. It's an unusual feeling opening a book and seeing it inscribed to a parent when they were your age. There are 21 stories in the series and 40 years later in the 1980s the series was even continued by French author Claude Voilier (who wrote several continuation novels).
Anyhow, this is the novel that started it all and in it we are introduced to the Famous Five - Julian, Dick, Anne, George, and her dog Tim.
As the novel opens Julian, Dick and Anne arrive at their uncle's for the summer where they are introduced to their cousin - the tomboyish Georgina (or George for short).
Together they set out to investigate the nearby island that belongs to George's mother and run straight into danger and adventure. There is a wreck submerged on the island that suppossibly has a fortune in gold inside, but several dives to the ship have yielded nothing. Then one night a fierce storm whips up and the wreck is brought to the surface.
It's compulsive reading and even as an adult I sometimes have that nostalgic desire to return to a more innocent time and read a Blyton novel.
These books are rather difficult to find in the United States though I was able to track down one online retailer that sells them as a complete set. However, if you want to sample the Famous Five series before putting down your hard earned cash for the entire series, this novel, (or my personal favorite of the series "Five Get into a Fix"), is well worth the expense.
Your children will thank you for it
Incidentally there is a DVD production available in Region 2 of this adventure. In the 1970s a British television series was also produced of the Famous Five adventures, and a second one in the 1990s and a 1981 movie adaptation of the first of the Adventure series (Island of Adventure).

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first of a smashing series!, January 6, 2005

By 

Cathee (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five on a Treasure Island (Famous Five) (Paperback)

This is the first installment of what was soon to become one of the all time best children's series ever written. This tome introduces us to the henceforth famous five: Julian, Dick, Anne, George, and of course, her faithful dog Timothy. The first three, who are siblings, travel to Kirren for the holiday and meet their cousin Georgina -a hot tempered little girl who dresses like a boy and refuses to answer to anything but "George". In no time, the five are fast friends and off on their first glorious adventure which sets the tone for many more: be prepared for mysterious happenings, bad tempered criminals, hair raising episodes in tunnels and passageways and of course, the usual mouth watering descriptions of every scrumptious meal the five share: FOUR meals a day, thank you very much, since the British partake of breakfast, dinner, tea AND supper! If you can make it through this book let alone the series without eating a lot of tomatos, you're a paragon of self discipline!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best mystery series ever for young readers!, October 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Five on a Treasure Island (Paperback)

Enid Blyton's "Five on a Treasure Island" is the first of the "Famous Five" series. In this opening story of the series, the "five" (four children and a dog) happen upon an old wreck that was raised to the surface by a fierce storm and discover a map that tells the location of gold ingots that disappeared hundreds of years ago. However, the map falls into the hands of criminals who also have designs on the lost gold and it then becomes a race between the children and the criminals to find the lost gold. Old wrecks. mysterious islands, secret tunnels, thrilling escapes and rescues are all part of this outstanding story. Although the famous five books are regarded as a childrens series, they are so well done that an adult would find it virtually impossible not to find it compelling and thoroughly enjoyable!