These Enid Blyton Books Showcase the Best of a Flawed Figure in SFF

Joe, Beth, and Frannie find the Enchanted Wood on the doorstep of their new home in the countryside. Amid the beautiful trees and flora, they discover the Faraway Tree, and with it a whole heap of adventures. There are elves, gnomes, and a host of mystical people with names like Moon-Face, Mr. Watzisname, and the Angry Pixie. The tree opens up incredible new world where anything is possible. But they must leave before the land moves on, or they will be stuck there until that same land returns to the Faraway Tree.

The Famous Five might be Blyton’s most famous and beloved series. Over the course of 21 novels, Blyton told the story of four kids and their dog Timmy, and their many exciting adventures. There's Julian, the oldest one and the most responsible of the group; Dick, the cheeky one; Anne, the young but brave one; George, the tomboy who is as stubborn as she is courageous; and Timmy, George's faithful dog.

In the first book, Five on a Treasure Island, the kids are spending their summer holiday with Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin at their home Kirrin Cottage, in the coastal village of Kirrin. A shipwreck lies on the beach, and there are tales of sunken treasure and smugglers. But none of them expect to find themselves caught up in a crime ring! 

Malory Towers is a series of six novels set at an all-girls boarding school inspired by one that Blyton's own daughter attended. Six more books were added to the series by author Pamela Cox following Blyton's death. Darrell Rivers begins her first year at Malory Towers with an eagerness to make lots of friends, but her temper always gets in the way and the other new girl, Gwendoline Mary Lacey, has a rather nasty streak. 

As the term continues, there are sports competitions to win, teachers to prank, and homework to do. Darrell and Gwendoline have a lot of work to catch up on before they can go home!

The Secret Seven are a group of child detectives who solve local mysteries from an old shed. There's Peter, the bossy leader, his sister Janet, his best friend Jack, the talkative Pam, her best friend Barbara, the quiet but brainy Colin, and the outsider George (and, of course, their beloved dog Scamper.) 

In the first full-length adventure, Jack witnesses suspicious activity on a snowy night at a large house where the only resident is a deaf caretaker. Is someone being held prisoner there? It's up to them to find out!

Published in 1943, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage launched the Five Find-Outers series. The book focuses on the quintet of kids—Larry and Daisy Daykin, Pip and Bets Hilton, and newcomer Frederick Algernon Trotteville—who decide to become detectives to solve an arson case. Someone has set fire to Mr. Hick's cottage, but who and why? 

The suspects are plentiful: there's a cantankerous old tramp, a recently fired servant with a grudge, a former colleague, and the local cook. The answers they uncover are unexpected and will shock everyone, adults and kids alike.

St. Clare's is a series of nine school stories, six of which were written by Blyton (the other three were completed by ghostwriter Pamela Cox in the 2000s.) Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan are identical twins in their first year at St. Clare's. They'd rather be off to Ringmere, where all their friends are going, but their parents are concerned that the girls might become spoilt and snobbish at the elite school. So they're off to St. Clare's, where they immediately gain a reputation as stuck-up. But while things to wrong at first, there are many things to appreciate at their new school, like lacrosse matches and adorable stray dogs. There's also a thief on the premises, and the twins must uncover the culprit before things go awry.

Elizabeth Allen is a very spoiled girl who causes mayhem wherever she goes. Multiple governesses have come and gone, unable to tame her bratty tendencies. She is sent to Whyteleafe School to be scared straight, but no school can keep her in line. Elizabeth is determined to behave so badly that she will be expelled. But soon she realizes how lonely it is being such a nightmare. Maybe her new friend Joan Townsend can teach her the benefits of being nice.

When Mollie and Peter go to buy their mother a birthday present, they stumble into a mysterious antiques shop with an owner who may or not be a fairy. There, they discover something wonderful: a magic Wishing-Chair with the power to grow wings and fly. After the chair rescues them from the shop, and gets them home, they decide to go on a grand adventure, one full of castles in the sky, giants, pixies, and much more!