The Magic
Faraway Tree
As a child, I was an avid reader. I sped through all the books my school offered and frequently visited
my local library where I would loan stacks of books at once. I cannot name each individual book I loved
due to the sheer capacity that I read, but I can safely say they all shaped my mind and creativity to
this day. I
would always find myself drawn to fantasy as a genre. It seemed amazing that well-written words alone
could provoke so many whimsical images and characters in my mind to the extent where I was transported
from my bedroom into a whole new dimension - an escape.
The first book I can recall that truly sparked my love for fantasy writing is
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid
Blyton, an English author of children's books.
The Magic Faraway Tree series consists of four books:
It follows the story of three children who move into a house nearby to an enchanted wood, where they later discover a gigantic magical tree. The books tell tales of adventures in the magical lands that visit the top of the tree and how the characters befriend the many residents of the lands and the woods itself. There has been many editions of these books, providing appropriate modernisations and the opportunity for different illustrations of the characters and scenes throughout the books.
Hover over each image to read more!
Joe (eldest), Beth (middle child) and Frannie (youngest) are three siblings who move into the area near the Enchanted Wood. They go on adventures in the different lands that arrive at the top of the Magic Tree and befriend the residents of the tree itself.
Joe, Beth and Frannie
The Angry Pixie lives in a house in the Enchanted Woods with a tiny window and has a habit of throwing cold water or any liquid at hand over people who dare to peep inside.
The Angry Pixie
Moon-Face gets his name from his round face. His house is also round and is filled with curved furniture. He is the owner of the slippery-slip, a slide which starts in the middle of his house in the Faraway Tree and ends right at the bottom.
Moon-Face
Saucepan Man gets his name from the fact that he is covered with saucepans and kettles. Sometimes, he misunderstands what his friends are saying because he is partially deaf, which is further aggravated by all the noise from the pans and kettles which he carries all the time.
Saucepan Man
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.
Mr Watzisname
Dame Snap is a strict teacher who runs a school for bad pixies which, in some of the adventures, the siblings and their friends accidentally find themselves there.
Dame Snap
Dame Washalot 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.
Dame Washalot
Silky gets her name because of her long, golden hair. She is one of the regular companions of the children when they go up the Tree to other lands. Throughout the books, Silky is referred to as both an elf and a pixie.
Silky
Enid Mary Blyton (11th August 1897 – 28th November 1968) was an children's writer born in
East Dulwich,
London. Many of her books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million
copies. The majority are still
enormously popular and have been translated into ninety languages, making her the 4th most translated
author, as of June 2019. Not only has she published works under her name Enid Blyton, she also has works
written using a pen name (Mary Pollock) - an assumed name used
by a writer instead of their real name.
Some of her most famous works include:
Click to read a full list of all Blyton's works:
Coded by Megan Taylor for SheCodes' Life-changing Book Challenge