The Famous Five

Books review: Top 5 of “The Famous Five” books

The Famous Five are a classic series of books for children written by Enid Blyton, following the adventures of teenagers Anne, Julian, Dick and their cousin Georgina (who prefers being called George), always accompanied by their faithful dog Timmy. The top 5 below focuses only on the books written by Enid Blyton, although more books have also been written by French translator Claude Voilier.

These books are aimed at young readers, between 8 and 12 years old, but my son who is only 6 just loves these stories. These are one of his favorite bedtime books and we went through all of them very quickly.

For any children, these are a perfect way to discover the joys of reading.

Number 5: Five go off to camp.

This one has ghost trains, what else do we need? The Five go camping, but mysterious things happen on and under the hill where they stay: smoke rising from the ground, strange noises and stories about ghost trains going along the tracks in the night. They also need to move over arguments that threaten to split the group apart.

Want to read it? Find it here.

Number 4: Five on a secret trail

It starts in a slightly different way than most of the books of the series. George goes to camp with her dog on her own, before being joined by Anne, while the two boys are on a trip in Spain. They meet a peculiar boy doing archeological digs nearby, but when Anne first hears voices coming from an old abandoned house and thinks it is haunted, then people walk around in the night, the girls are almost scared enough to want to leave. That’s when the boys arrive and once together, the Famous Five are ready to take on any enemy, ghosts or real.

Want to read it? Find it here.

Number 3: Five on a hike together

What starts as a peaceful hike for a short break soon turns into one of the Famous Five best adventure. During a stormy night he is forced to spend in a barn, Dick receives by mistake a map and the Five set off to decipher it and uncover its secrets. This leads them to the remains of a burnt house beside a lake. The map gives them some clues about how to locate a hidden treasure at the bottom of the lake. But knowing where the treasure lies isn’t enough: they will need all their ingenuity to recover it and prevents the bad people who are looking for it to get their hands on it.

Want to read it? Find it here.

Number 2: Five run away together

Alex loves this story as it has a lot of action. There is a new cook at Kirrin cottage, but she doesn’t seem nice and neither do her son, their dog or her husband who sneaks in to sleep in the kitchen each night. When they are left in her care after Georgina’s mum needs to leave for a few days, the Five decide to go and camp on Kirrin Island. But they are not alone to come to the island, and they will have to fight to foil an awful kidnapping.

Want to read it? Find it here.

Number 1: Five on a Treasure Island

The first book of the series. Anne, Julian and Dick come to Kirrin cottage for the first time and meet their cousin Georgina, an encounter both funny and touching. The adventure has a ruined castle on an island (the castle that inspired it is Corfe Castle), a wrecked ship, hidden dungeons and a treasure. After gaining the trust of their cousin, the Five visit her island. While exploring the wreckage of an old ship that a storm pushed on the rocks, they find a box containing a map that seems to indicate the location of a treasure under the castle. But someone else knows about this too and wants to buy the island. The Five will need to find a way into the dungeons if they want to be the first to find the treasure and save their island.

Want to read it? Find it here.

Advertisement