Island of Adventure

I first read this book in 1955, and for fun, I read it again in 2005. It is reassuring to note that nothing has changed. Enid Blyton's Adventure Series should be the mainstay of every childhood reading program, and "Island of Adventure" is the place to begin.

Just a wonderful childrens adventure novel...with great, friendly and lovable characters. If you've never read them before get your children to try them.

I bought this recently for my son having fond memories of it myself when I was ten years old and, inevitably, found myself reading it again to see if it was as great as I remembered.It was.The opener in Blyton?s ?adventure? series introduces us to Jack and Lucy-Ann Trent who are orphans and Jack and Dinah who spend most of their time with their aunt Polly and Uncle Joscelyn whilst not at school. It also introduces us to Kiki the parrot, Jack?s extremely verbose feathered friend.This holidays find them at a summer school, ostensibly for Jack and Philip where they meet and become great friends. Jack is bird-mad, Lucy-Ann adores her brother, Philip loves all creatures and Dinah is his fiery-tempered yet forgiving sister.After managing leave the summer school and return to Philip?s and Dinah?s uncle and aunt?s house, Craggy Tops, the four find themselves in the middle of an adventure as they see strange goings on at Gloom Island. Coupled with a secret passageway to the cellars and Joe, the handyman?s, prying and nasty actions it swiftly develops. They meet and befriend Bill Smugs who is staying at a lonely small house on the cliffs and he shows them how to sail which eventually takes them to Gloom Island and into some mines for a truly exciting adventure.Coming from the pen of history?s most prolific children?s books writer, the opener in the eight-book series is just as exciting for my son now as it was for me all those years ago. The adventures of Jack, Lucy-Ann, Dinah, Philip and Kiki the Parrot fuel the imagination and are a delight to follow.

I devoured these books too and loved them and the characters. I remember staying up half the night because I couldn't bear to put them down! And by the way, Harry Potter wouldn't exist without Blyton, as its format is based on her school series (also excellent.)I highly recommend these for children 6-10, although my sister and I still reread them.