A Tribute To Enid Blyton

A TRIBUTE TO ENID BLYTON (1897-1968)

By Roman Ahsan (March 2010)

[Given here, are some of the storybook titles for children by Enid Blyton (1897-1968) followed by a message for elders!]

"The Children of Willow Farm"

"The Magic Faraway Tree"

"Well Done Secret Seven" - The Secret Seven Series

"Mr. Galliano's Circus"

"Six Cousins Again"

"Five on a Treasure Island" - Famous Five Series

Childhood is the most beautiful period of one’s life but it passes so quickly. What a child gains in those formative years helps throughout the life. The little ones have fragile minds and need to be nurtured with love and care.

They have to be cultivated with the right messages but today’s world poses a dangerous situation. Now they are more drawn to artificial stimuli like computer games, cable TV and mobile phones which steal away their innocence while creating an abstract thought process in their minds.

What can we do? How can we ensure that our children become good human beings and good role models for the society when they grow up? As one step, we can make a difference here by introducing good storybooks (both English and Urdu) and reading them out to our children.

One writer that has done wonders in creating fantasy worlds for children is the British Enid Blyton whose storybooks make the children live with the characters as the stories proceed. Also, her stories focus on lessons of courage, bravery, forgiveness and compassion (for human beings as well as animals).

Shared here are some of the titles from her books that I have read myself. Do ask your vendor to get them from abroad if they are not available here, while of course finding more about Enid Blyton’s work! And one thing more…if you want your child to learn beautiful English, then Enid Blyton and “Reader’s Digest” will definitely come to your rescue!!!

A WORD OF CAUTION:    We as Muslims need to bring up our children with the right balance between everything. These storybooks will provide a base of good English to the children in this competitive world. However, our own cultural and Islamic heritage is not to be compromised upon in this process, we should remember. It is strongly advisable to first introduce good Urdu storybooks (like good novels from Ferozesons and others) to the children till class 4 or 5 and English storybooks should be presented later on. This way we can at least expect the children to remain close to their values when they grow up. It is a gamble and the trick is to play it safe, and keep monitoring your children. Make them your friends and keep discussing their likes and dislikes with them so that they don’t feel alienated from you!