The Mystery of the Invisible Thief by Enid Blyton

Saturday, September 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

The Mystery of the Invisible Thief by Enid Blyton
Series: The Five Find-Outers #8
Publisher: Dragon Books Ltd | 1968 (first published 1950) | 158 pages
Buy on Amazon

I have been a great fan of Enid Blyton while growing up (still a fan now!) but I did not have the luxury of reading many of her books. Though I wished to own the entire Enid Blyton collection, I was only limited to the books I already had. It was partly because some of her books were not easy to find in bookstores.

My favourite mystery-solving group of children was the Five Find-Outers and Dog. Come to think of it now, they really gave themselves such a cute name! This group of friends consists of Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip, Bets and Fatty’s dog Buster.

I did not get to read The Mystery of the Invisible Thief back then. So that’s why I went on to BookMooch four years ago to mooch for a used copy. Only this year that I’m reading it for the first time!

It starts with the children lazing around on a hot summer’s day complaining about not having a good, juicy mystery to solve. But what’s a mystery book without a mystery, eh? Before the children know it, they find a mystery where a thief who breaks in to houses somehow remains invisible whereby nobody ever spots him escaping the scene of the crime.

The thief does leave some clues behind though – large footprints, large glove prints and a curious print of criss-cross lines on the ground. With those clues and several more obtained later on from a policeman, the friends, led by Fatty, set out on various ‘undercover assignments’ to try to get more clues on the mystery. Oh yeah, Fatty does dress up in disguises a few times. This time, someone else joins him, though not as skillful, in putting up disguises.

Reading an Enid Blyton book at the age of 24 is so different from the time when I was 10 or 11. It would have been much more enjoyable to read it back then but to discover these unread books now is another unforgettable experience altogether. It certainly brings upon a wave of nostalgia of the good, younger and carefree days.

I feel like I’m reading the book through new eyes. Okay, same pair of eyes, different glasses but different take on what I read. I see how the group always listens to Fatty who seems to have the most brilliant ideas and suggestions. He spends more time pondering over the clues, the suspects and possible solutions to the case. The others are merely followers who gladly do what he tells them to do. Especially Bets who, I will say this, has a huge crush on Fatty. I wonder if this has been mentioned outright in any of the books. I do hope Fatty does not take her for granted when they grow up!

Now that I’m older and supposedly wiser, I’m still learning new words while reading Enid Blyton books. One word I learnt from this mystery was gymkhana. Have you heard of it before?

This is what I found on Wikipedia:

In English-speaking countries, a gymkhana refers to a multi-game equestrian event performed to display the training and talents of horses and their riders. The plot of the children’s story “The Mystery of the Invisible Thief” by Enid Blyton begins at a gymkhana held at an English village, testifying to its being a common institution in English society at the time of writing (the 1940s).

Whew. This is some review for a book of only 158 pages. But hey, it’s an Enid Blyton book. :)

Filed Under: Authors B, Genre - Children's Books, Titles M Tagged With:

Ima Pea by Cathy Easter Breland

Thursday, May 31, 2012 by 1 Comment

Ima Pea: Including It’s Your Turn Study Guide by Cathy Easter Breland
Publisher: WestBow Press | 2011 | 72 pages
Buy on Amazon

The cover instantly brightens up my mood just by looking at it. There’s a cute smiling green pea, the boldly printed title over it and the distinctive purple border. So what’s in it, I wonder?

According to the synopsis at the back cover of the book, this is fiction for children who will learn about the seriousness of certain issues such as depression. There is a story in the book (filled with colourful illustrations!) of a pea called Ima who is not happy about being born a pea, which she thinks is the worst vegetable to be.

So she then goes on to meet other vegetables and thinks that she could be like them instead. But despite wishing wanting to be like them, she still sees the disadvantages of being other vegetables. Until she meets Cob who advises her to just be the very best pea that God created her to be. It only made Ima angry though! She then continues to find the vegetable that she wants to be instead of a pea.

The story comes to a happy ending though for Ima who finally feels thankful for being just the way she is – a pea.

After reading the story, the child can try the interactive games and exercises in the book to review the lessons Ima had learnt. Younger children would need the guidance of an adult with some of the exercises. In fact, younger children would need an adult to read the entire book to them because it is kind of wordy. But I’m sure they will enjoy looking at the cute pictures of the different types of vegetables inside it!

Ima Pea: Including It’s Your Turn Study Guide is a cute and educational 72-page book for children who might sometimes feel that they do not meet certain expectations. Ima’s story can remind them that despite the troubles and challenges they face, there are other people who have troubles that are far more serious.

Another book for children by Cathy Breland is Choices!, which is designed to foster open and honest communication between children, youths and adults.

***Thanks to Brittany Harness of Author Solutions, Inc. for sending me a review copy of this book!

Filed Under: Authors B, Genre - Children's Books, Titles I

The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook by Robin Currie and Constanza Basaluzzo

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

No Christian kid is too ever too young to get to know the Bible. This is why The Baby Bible Christmas Storybook is the perfect first glimpse of bible stories for a young child.

It begins with ‘Mary’s Secret’ where Mary finds out from the angel Gabriel that she’s going to be the Mother of God.

After that, it’s a chronology of events right up until the birth of Jesus Christ.

There is a short prayer included at the end of every story. I love this one because of the way it’s written:

Dear God, thank You for the best secret: Jesus. Amen

What’s fun is that you don’t only read from the book to your kid but both of you could engage in some fun movements to bring the stories to life! For example,

The angel told Mary a special secret.
Put your fingers on your lips: shhhh.

You and your child will not find a dull moment while reading it.

Written by Robin Currie and illustrated by Constanza Basaluzzo, it is a sturdy board book with cute, colourful graphics to keep your kid (and you!) glued to the pages till the very end. Even if your baby decides to chew on the pages, the book won’t fall to bits.

This book is a recommended read during Christmas, of course. But don’t let it stop you from picking it up at other times of the year and re-reading with your child about the events that lead up to the birth of Jesus, which is the moment celebrated by Christians worldwide every Dec 25th!

***Thanks to Audra Jennings from The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy of this book.

Filed Under: Authors C, Genre - Children's Books, Titles B

Hunky Dory by Jean Ure

Thursday, May 7, 2009 by 5 Comments

Hunky Dory by Jean Ure
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books | 2007 | 192 pages
Buy on Amazon

I may be too old to read this kind of books but I do enjoy them so much! Until now, I’ve already read four books by Jean Ure and their protagonists are all approaching their teen years. Ah, who cares? These books make me laugh out loud so I don’t have a problem with how young the characters are.

In Hunky Dory, the narrator is Dorian Jones or Dory and he’s “having terrible trouble with girls”. According to him, girls in his form keep acting weird around him. For example, a girl named Amy Wilkerson sat next to him in Geography class and kept getting cosy leaning up to him while talking to her friend who was sitting on his other side. And another girl kept beaming at him in class.

What makes it even more interesting is that Dory’s younger sister’s friend, Linzi, has a crush on Dory. Dory’s younger sister, Annabel or Microdot (Dory’s nickname for her) regularly gives Dory personality quizzes to do so that she can write his profile to tell what kind of person he is. She also hints to him about why he keeps avoiding Linzi. Dory just goes along with these tests to humour his sister.

Dory cannot understand why other girls can’t be like the Herb, his good friend. Her real name is Rosemary but the Herb is her nickname. I don’t know how she got it anyway. Dory, the Herb and Dory’s other good friend, Aaron, spend their free time in Dory’s garden, digging a hole to look for artifacts. Dory is passionately fond of dinosaurs and hopes to become some sort of dinosaur archaeologist when he grows up.

When Dory finds out that his best friend, Aaron, is going out with a girl, he becomes even more confused. He had always thought that his friends were never into girls and that they think girls are quite silly. He is also puzzled when the Herb acts weird sometimes. Once when he suggested inviting another girl over to help dig the hole, the Herb went quite ballistic.

I like the illustrations that go with the story. They’ll appear after every few pages and it helps the reader to visualize what’s going on. A quick, funny and perfect read if you want to know what young kids are up to nowadays.

Filed Under: Authors U, Genre - Children's Books, Titles H

Famous Five: Five On A Treasure Island by Enid Blyton

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 by 7 Comments

This is the first book in the Famous Five series. This is where the 3 siblings, Julian, Dick and Anne meet their cousin, Georgina or George as she prefers to be called, for the first time. The siblings have been sent to stay at George’s house for the holidays.

George likes to be referred to as a boy and she does act like one. She can swim and run really fast. At first, she decided not to like her cousins and not entertain them at all. She’ll only act civil to them in order not to get a beating from her scientist father.

However, she grew to like her cousins a lot. The siblings are very caring and loyal to her and have defended her at times. They also kept George’s dog, Timmy, a secret from her parents. This is what you’ll find in Enid Blyton books. The children will somehow like one another, which is good and can cultivate positive feelings in younger readers.

Well, George’s family lives at Kirrin Bay, which is near to Kirrin Island. George claims that the island belongs to her since her mother doesn’t want it and gave it to George. While visiting the island, a wreck of a ship which has been underwater for a long time has been brought up by the waves of the sea. There’s supposed to be gold in it, so the children set out to explore it. They did not find any gold, unfortunately.

The most exciting part was where somebody who wanted to buy the island for a good sum of money that can help George’s family. They have been having financial problems as George’s scientist father isn’t making much. Therefore, they jumped at the opportunity of selling the island. This of course angers George who obviously loves her little island and the ruined castle on it.

I thought this book plain boring. Perhaps it’s because I’ve not read it as a child and that I’m only reading it now. The book is meant for children, after all. But if you did read it as a child, you can always read it again and relive your younger days!

Filed Under: Authors B, Genre - Children's Books, Titles F Tagged With:

The Rat-A-Tat Mystery by Enid Blyton

Friday, September 5, 2008 by 10 Comments

Do I even need to review this book??? I mean, it’s an Enid Blyton book, for goodness’ sake! :D Well, I’ll write about it anyway.

This is the fifth book in the Barney mystery series. Barney, Diana, Roger, Snubby, and Snubby’s dog, Loony, appear in all the Barney books. Diana and Roger are sister and brother while Snubby’s their cousin. He has no parents so he’s always sent to live with relatives during his school holidays but he enjoys spending his holidays with Diana and Roger. Barney is their friend. He has a pet monkey called Miranda. Pretty name, huh?

By the way, it’s the winter holidays for the kids. Barney has finally found his father after an endless search for him and he’s spent Christmas time with his newfound family. After Christmas, Barney invites Roger, Diana, and Snubby to stay at a house owned by his grandmother by a lake and surrounded by hills. Of course, Roger and Diana’s parents agreed to let them have fun by themselves. A Mrs. Tickle will be cooking their meals, washing their stuff, and just basically looking after them.

So at the house, the children spent their time skating and tobogganing down the snowy hills and having the time of their lives. Meanwhile, at night, they hear mysterious knocking sounds like ‘rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat’. Haha! Can you imagine such sounds? To me, it sounds odd but there you go.

As usual, the children being their inquisitive selves and with a huge sense of adventure, they decide to investigate the sounds. They even found a large glove on the ground outside and Snubby thought he saw somebody standing outside looking at the house. Therefore, they found reason to suspect that something was wrong.

I’ve now read 4 of the books in the Barney mystery series. The other three are The Rockingdown Mystery, The Rilloby Fair Mystery, and The Ring O’ Bells Mystery. Being an Enid Blyton fan and one who has grown up reading her books, I find them enjoyable and a great way to ‘relive’ my childhood.

Filed Under: Authors B, Genre - Children's Books, Titles R Tagged With:
«Older Posts