We loved the characters of the new children. They were developed well and were each very relatable. Mr. Watzisname cannot remember his name. He sleeps and snores all the time. During a particular story at the Land of Secrets, Mr. Watzisname discovers his name, Kollamoolitumarellipawkyrollo, then forgets it almost immediately as it is so long; I was a bit disappointed at some parts in the book, the older books by Enid Blyton were rather sexist at some parts and I thought JW's would be more progressive from those times and they were to an extent but in other ways not much had chanced.

After they arrive the children go out to play and discover a talking rabbit who convinces them to go to a place that’s extraordinary, enchanting and spellbinding. But when Moon-Face expresses a Blyton-esque sentiment about girls being required to help with domestic tasks, while boys do something more exciting, he is immediately educated on the subject of gender equality. Jacqueline Wilson has captured the essence of the originals, writing in the way that Blyton did. I think if I hadn’t know it was a different author I would just presume Blyton had written the fantastical descriptions and used the language consistently with the books, so a huge congratulations to Wilson for creating a modern day version of the classic, without spoiling any of the authenticity of the Faraway tree stories, or taking it a step too far as many modern day re workings do. Enid Blyton is one of the most-loved authors in children's publishing. With over 700 titles published, Enid Blyton's stories remain timeless classics, adored by children throughout the world. I'm not sure what drew me to this book. As a child, even though I was a voracious reader, I never really got into Enid Blyton. Given that this is a new adventure, written by Jacqueline Wilson, I thought that I would give it a go.One of my two favourite books as a child (the other being The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe), this retelling by Jacqueline Wilson captures all the charm and wonder of the original, while hinting everything is happening in our time. With very little mention of technology and good-old-fashioned adventure the key, this story holds in fact, many adventures for the siblings. In 2022, we published a brand-new story set in Enid Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree world but written by a different author: the bestselling Jacqueline Wilson. This book was illustrated by Mark Beech. This story, called The Magic Faraway Tree: A New Adventure, sees three contemporary siblings, Milo, Mia and Birdy, encounter the Enchanted Wood, the Faraway Tree and all its wonderful inhabitants and Lands. In 2023, we will publish a second new adventure set in Enid Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree world by Jacqueline Wilson: The Magic Faraway Tree: A Christmas Adventure, also illustrated by Mark Beech. Apart from breaks to play golf and spend time with her children, Enid's working week was consumed with writing new stories, correcting proofs and answering the hundreds of letters she was, by now, receiving weekly. She explained that her characters evolved organically and her stories seemed to naturally form, she described herself as "merely a sightseer, a reporter, and interpreter."

Mrs Wilson has retained the idea of magical lands at the top of the tree, but included some of her own: the Land of Dragons and the Land of Unicorns.

Milo, Mia and Birdy are on a countryside holiday when they wander into an Enchanted Wood. Among the whispering leaves, there is a beautiful tree that stands high above the rest. The Magic Faraway Tree is home to many remarkable creatures including a fairy called Silky, her best friend Moonface and more. Little Birdy is only too happy to find that fairies are real. Even her older brother and sister are soon won over by the magic of the Faraway Tree and the extraordinary places they discover above it, including the Land of Unicorns. But not every land is so much fun. Danger looms in the Land of Dragons. Will Moonface’s magic work in time to save the children? Voices: Roy Hudd, Richard Pearce, Kate Harbour, John Baddeley, Jimmy Hibbert, Janet James and David Holt. The relationship between Silky and moonface could have been improved from what it was. Moonface was possessive of Silky and Silky loved him despite his displays of toxic masculinity and weaponised incompetence for how he acts as if he cannot clean up after himself and pits that responsibility on Silky. Without spoiling too much of the story, in one of the lands JW wrote about this became even more clear when moonface ended up in a physical altercation with another character because of his possessiveness of Silky. Because we also like to listen to audiobooks while doing other things we also bought the audiobook version when it was released. We hoped that Miriam Margolyes (who is usually a wonderful narrator) would make the book more engaging, but she was unfortunately an -awful- choice of narrator for this story, particularly in comparison to the vibrancy and spark of Kate Winslet’s reading of the originals. The voices for Silky and Mia were both bad, Pippin was grating in the extreme. Just.. disappointment all round, really.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award. Enid Blyton also wrote the text for a comic-strip story called Up the Faraway Tree (1951). Two picture books have been published set in the Magic Faraway Tree world, with new texts, not written by Enid Blyton: Silky’s Story (2020) and Moonface’s Story (2021). Chapters from the first three original books are also published as individual full-colour editions for young readers, illustrated by Alex Paterson. Mia, the older girl, says that in the modern world girls are just as clever as boys, and sometimes cleverer. Dame Washalot, who spends her time washing her clothes and throwing the dirty wash-water down the tree. If she has no clothes to wash, she washes the dirty laundry of other people and even the leaves of the Faraway Tree;It will keep the original, magical inhabitants of the Faraway Tree, including Moon-Face, Silky the Fairy and the Saucepan Man. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton’s beloved children’s adventure, is to get a modern makeover with a lesson about sexism. Milo, Mia and Birdy are on a countryside holiday when they wander into an Enchanted Wood. Among the whispering leaves, there is a beautiful tree that stands high above the rest. The Magic Faraway Tree is home to many remarkable creatures including a fairy called Silky, her best friend Moonface and more. Little Birdy is only too happy to find that fairies are real. Even her older brother and sister are soon won over by the magic of the Faraway Tree and the extraordinary places they discover above it, including the Land of Unicorns. But not every land is so much fun. Danger looms in the Land of Dragons. Will Moonface's magic work in time to save the children? Alexander Antscherl, editorial director at Enid Blyton Entertainment, said: “The book has got some nods to gender equality between girls and boys, which you didn’t always see in the original books. The Magic Faraway Tree: A New Adventure by Jacqueline Wilson was published in May 2022. [4] Adaptations [ edit ] Film [ edit ]