Monday, May 16, 2011

Enid Blyton


       
          Enid Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) has always been an all time favourite author with youngsters. Her books are for slightly younger children, so teens please excuse me. You'll probably find my next post much more to your liking, though.
          She wrote hundreds of books for very small kids, but I prefer the books that are part of a series, and have more elaborate storylines.  Click on the links in each sub-category to go to a different site to download the eBook. Please let me know about broken links or wrong eBooks.

The Adventure Series
          Book Shades Rating : 7/10
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/images/adventure-series-4.gif


          This series features five children Jack, Lucy-Ann, Philip and Dinah. Jack's pet parrot, Kiki, provides wonderful humour, guaranteed to keep you laughing till the end of the story... The children, along with Kiki, have many hilarious adventures, and manage to escape in one piece. 

          Some of the books in the series have also been made into full length movies, and can be watched on YouTube (The River Of Adventure, The Mountain Of Adventure, The Circus Of Adventure, and The Castle Of Adventure) . The movies have been split into 30 segments, though.
         The links each lead to a page with the eBook in HTML form. To download the eBook, click the links and press Ctrl+S to save the page, or do a right-click and Save Link As on the below links:

1 - The Island Of Adventure 
 http://goanwap.com/ebook-download-as1.html


2 - The Castle Of Adventure
http://goanwap.com/ebook-download-as2.html

3 - The Valley Of Adventure
http://goanwap.com/ebook-download-as3.html


4 - The Sea Of Adventure
http://goanwap.com/ebook-download-as4.html


5 - The Mountain Of Adventure
http://goanwap.com/ebook-download-as5.html


6 - The Ship Of Adventure
http://goanwap.com/ebook-download-as6.html


7 - The Circus Of Adventure
http://goanwap.com/ebook-download-as7.html


8 - The River Of Adventure
http://goanwap.com/ebook-download-as8.html


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The Famous Five


         Book Shades Rating : 5.5/10
famous-five
Dick, Julian, George and Anne (and Timmy, of course!)

            This famous series needs no introduction. This is a very long series, consisting of 21 books. This series follows the adventures of Georgina (a boyish girl, who prefers to call herself George), Anne, Dick, Julian and their dog, Timmy. The stories are set around an imaginary town called Kirrin. These stories, however, do not have much of an element of humour, but do not let me discourage you from finding out for yourself...  
            
           Most of the Famous Five books have been made into movies, which may be watched on YouTube (search the name of the book). Alternatively, you can also buy the movies as a pack, here or here. 
Here are the download links for the original 21 books by Enid Blyton. The Links are 100% safe and working. The links each lead to a page with the eBook in HTML form. To download the eBook, click the links and press Ctrl+S to save the page, or do a right-click and Save Link As on the below links:

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           Later, Claude Voilier wrote 24 Famous Five stories in French, 18 of which were translated into English, by Anthea Bell, and are now available in most old book stores, and deserve an honest Book Shades Rating of 7.5/10. Those books are, however not available in eBook form, though you can buy them cheap (About 4 USD, including shipping) at www.amazon.com). The English Voilier Titles are listed below. To buy the books, go to Amazon, and enter the name of the book. Click on the pictures below to view more information about them:
   
The Famous Five and the Stately Homes Gang
First Published in 1981 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Mystery of the Emeralds
First Published in 1981 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Missing Cheetah
First Published in 1981 by Knight Book
The Famous Five Go On Television
First Published in 1981 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Golden Galleon
First Published in 1982 by Knight Books
The Famous Five Versus the Black Mask
First Published in 1982 by Knight Books
The Famous Five in Fancy Dress
First Published in 1983 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Blue Bear Mystery
First Published in 1983 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Inca God
First Published in 1984 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Cavalier's Treasure
First Published in 1984 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Strange Legacy
First Published in 1984 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Secret of the Caves
First Published in 1984 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Hijackers
First Published in 1985 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Strange Scientist
First Published in 1985 by Knight Books
The Famous Five in Deadly Danger
First Published in 1986 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Knights' Treasure
First Published in 1986 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Z-Rays
First Published in 1987 by Knight Books
The Famous Five and the Pink Pearls
First Published in 1987 by Knight Books

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           Two series of Famous Five Adventure Game-books have also published, where you get to solve the mysteries yourself, by making the important decisions in the story. These, too are not available as eBooks, though you can buy them at Amazon for the same price as the Claude Voilier titles. Just search the book names on www.Amazon.com to buy them.
The first series of these, written by Stephen Thraves, featured stories loosely based on the original books.The gamebooks were titled as follows:   


  1. The Wreckers' Tower Game, based on Five Go Down to the Sea
  2. The Haunted Railway Game, based on Five Go Off to Camp
  3. The Whispering Island Game, based on Five Have a Mystery to Solve
  4. The Sinister Lake Game, based on Five On a Hike Together
  5. The Wailing Lighthouse Game, based on Five Go to Demon's Rocks
  6. The Secret Airfield Game, based on Five Go to Billycock Hill
  7. The Shuddering Mountain Game, based on Five Get into a Fix
  8. The Missing Scientist Game, based on Five Have a Wonderful Time

The second series, written by Mary Danby, was entitled "The Famous Five and You". The books in this series were based on the first six original Famous Five books:

  1. The Famous Five and You Search for Treasure!
  2. The Famous Five and You Find Adventure!
  3. The Famous Five and You Run Away!
  4. The Famous Five and You Search for Smugglers!
  5. The Famous Five and You Take Off!
  6. The Famous Five and You Underground! 

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          Over the years, a number of Famous Five short stories appeared in Enid Blyton's Magazine Annuals, Princess Gift Books and Comic, and a Weeties strip book. In 1999 a compilation book was published featuring all of the 8 short stories, called Five Have A Puzzling Time and Other Stories. See the Amazon link for buying the books below. I strongly suspect that this is available in eBook form, though I haven't found it yet. Watch this space for updates...
*Update 1*
I was right! Well, almost... This book is available for download as an audiobook. The link is untested, but many sites refer to it, so it's probably fine. I would appreciate anybody testing the links for me, though.
http://rapidshare.com/files/317678633/Enid_Blyton_-_Five_Have_a_Puzzling_Time_and_Other_Stories.rar
*Update 2*
Link tested! File size is 72 MB, and audio quality is very good. This is, in fact the original audiobook published by Hodder Children's Books, with reading in a flawless British accent.
*Update 3*
Unfortunately, the file has now been removed. Now you can listen to them for free on Youtube in five parts. Please follow these links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1EZBknZ5V4&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCDr_gP4c2E&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jhmhy9zyCs&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvP_DiwOFfc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx8aKye0O9M&feature=relmfu
Five Have a Puzzling Time and Other Stories
 http://www.amazon.com/Five-Have-Puzzling-Other-Stories/dp/0099488310/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305476899&sr=8-2
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          In Enid Blyton's Adventure Magazine, seventeen of the 21 original Enid Blyton books were adapted into full colour comics. At present, four of these are available as comic-scan eBooks. The eBooks are in .cbz format, which actually an RAR archive file. After downloading the file, change the file extension from .cbz to .rar and extract it. The comic will be present as multiple scanned images. You may read them as it is, or print them to a common PDF. Click on the link to download.

*Update*
Unfortunately, all the below links are dead. I'm still trying to  find other links.



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      There are also 5 Famous Five games, that are not based on any of the books. I have  tested NONE of the links below, and am not responsible for their quality. I would appreciate anybody testing the links for me. Having read a few reviews about the Famous Five games, I am convinced that the first game, Treasure Island, is not worth downloading, as it runs on DOS with mediocre graphics. the other games are published by a good publishing company (Ravensburger Interactive), and contain the latest graphics. An interesting to note is that the settings, including the houses, lighthouse, farm etc. are exactly the same in the games 2, 3, 4 and 5, and it is only the storyline that changes.
*Update*
The Rapishare Filestube link for Famous Five 3: Kidnapped has been tested, and it works fine.

*FAMOUS FIVE 1: Treasure Island

The Treasure Island game

* FAMOUS FIVE 2: The Silver Tower
Silver Tower Box Cover
The Silver Tower Game

* FAMOUS FIVE 3: Kidnapped!
http://www.metzomagic.com/images/2006/F5Kid1b.jpg
'Kidnapped!' Game

* FAMOUS FIVE 4: Dangerous Discovery
http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/443959-the-famous-five-dangerous-discovery-windows-screenshot-in.png
The 'Dangerous Discovery' Game


* FAMOUS FIVE 5: On A Secret Mission
http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/442840-the-famous-5-five-on-a-secret-mission-windows-screenshot-the.png
Five On A Secret Mission Game
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The Five Find-Outers and Dog
Book Shades Rating : 8.5/10 
Five Find-Outers
The Find-Outers Trail a Suspect
          This is the series with the highest rating in this post, and by far the best Enid Blyton series.
This series follows the adventures of five young children : Pip, Bets, Larry, Daisy, and Frederick (Affectionately called Fatty, for reasons that become obvious as soon as you start reading the books), and Fatty's brilliant dog, Buster. They solve local mysteries in the fictitious little town of Peterswood, assisted by their friend, Inspector (later promoted to Superintendent) Jenkins, a "high-up" in the district police department. Mr. Goon, the bumbling local policeman, who has a serious grudge against Fatty because the children manage to solve cases much faster than him, and gain Superintendent Jenkins' trust and friendship.
          
           The Find-Outers are assisted in later cases by Ern, Mr. Goon's nephew, who always manages to annoy his uncle by helping the Find-Outers instead of his uncle. The main highlights of this series are the amazing intelligence and detective skills of Fatty, which manage to astonish even his fellow Find-Outers! The silly antics of Mr. Goon and his vain efforts to thwart the Find-Outers are hilariously funny, and you'll be laughing till you drop.
            The instructions to download the eBooks is exactly the same as it was for the Famous Five eBooks above.
  1. The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo1.html
  2. The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo2.html
  3. The Mystery of the Secret Room http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo3.html
  4. The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo4.html
  5. The Mystery of the Missing Necklace http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo5.html
  6. The Mystery of the Hidden House http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo6.html
  7. The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo7.html
  8. The Mystery of the Invisible Thief http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo8.html
  9. The Mystery of the Vanished Prince http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo9.html
  10. The Mystery of the Strange Bundle http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo10.html
  11. The Mystery of Holly Lane http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo11.html
  12. The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo12.html
  13. The Mystery of the Missing Man http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo13.html
  14. The Mystery of the Strange Messages http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo14.html
  15. The Mystery of Banshee Towers http://www.goanwap.com/ebook-download-ffo15.html
  
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      In 1986, Stephen Thraves wrote four Solve-It-Yourself Mysteries featuring the Five Find-Outers and Dog, where you get to make the important decisions in  the storyline, and try to solve the mystery yourself. I have not yet found these books in eBook form, though you can buy them at Amazon (The prices seem quite steep, but they might come down soon). See the links below for buying the Solve-It-Yourself Mysteries:

1. The Five Find-Outers and the Shadowy Figure
http://www.amazon.com/Find-outers-Shadowy-Figure-yourself-Mysteries/dp/0583308937

2. The Five Find-Outers and the Faked Painting
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Find-Outers-Faked-Painting/dp/B003Y8QN42/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305476179&sr=1-1

3. The Five Find-Outers and the Note from Nowhere
http://www.amazon.com/Find-outers-Nowhere-Blyton-yourself-Mysteries/dp/0583308929/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305476237&sr=1-1

4. The Five Find-Outers and the Raided Safe
http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Yourself-Mysteries-Find-Outers-Raided/dp/B000YROF4Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305476328&sr=1-1 

          Enid Blyton also wrote other books for children, like The Secret Seven, Malory Towers, 'R' Mystery Series, St. Clares' Series, and the Secret Series, and billions more, which would be quite readable for young children (Ages 7-10). To get these eBooks, go to the Enid Blyton eBooks list at GoanWap.com (The site is safe). Of these, the 'R' Mystery Series can be quite interesting even for children up to 12 years of age, and deserves a Book Shades Rating of 8/10.
  
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      I hope you enjoyed my first ever blog post. Be sure to type your comments below. I would certainly appreciate error corrections, and more eBook links related to Enid Blyton.My next post will probably be about eBook readers, and eBook software for PC, and you can expect it some time around mid-June.
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Links For Further Information On Enid Blyton and her Books:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton
http://www.enidblyton.net/
http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/
http://www.indiaplaza.com/enid-blyton.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Enid-Blyton/e/B001HPICSY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1305522560&sr=8-3
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