I am a 55 year old father and I read these stories to my 6 year old daughter before bedtime. We had already read all the secret 7 stories which my daughter enjoyed very much. As with the famous 5 adventures, she was captivated by the stories and not frightened by them. It was fascinating to listen to her theories about what was going on early on in the stories, who were the bad guys and what their intentions were. As an adult the emerging plot was evident and obvious but for Yohanna her imagination was more interesting to listen to. Enid Blighton was Writing in a time when gender roles were largely unquestioned (indeed it is arguable that they have really changed that much in the past 60 years....men continue to defer to women regarding childcare and women continue to be held by held by the oppressive gaze of both genders to be the primary carers despite often also managing a career. The gender role stereotypes are apparent in the secret seven where the males are brave and take risks while the females passively take a supporting role). In contrast, the character of George in the famous five ( A girl who wants to be a boy and rebels with appropriate anger against the gender definitions that do violence to her) makes the famous five a little more contemporary. I was more at ease with these stories. Yohanna and I are now ploughing through the second collection of the famous five so no doubt I will review that too.Despite its hefty size, this collection of three books in one binding by the original publishers [Hodder and Stoughton: Hodder Children's Books] is still quite easy to hold, and contains the original text beloved by millions of readers. Pages turn easily and lay flat without any sign of loosening or falling out. A former bookseller, I've seen many paperback editions that are cheaply made and disintegrate with anything like real use--this edition looks like it can be lastingly enjoyed and passed along to new readers. Imaginative children will delight in the stories themselves but also in the dialogue which will introduce them to the way people expressed themselves when these books were published (1940s), a far more interesting reading adventure than having everything "modernised" by corporate writers who want a piece of the Blyton pie while marketing the fumigated re-writes as motivated by anything but commercial greed. Introduce these texts to children who are curious and open a dialogue about, well...dialogue. And attitudes. Along with the sort of adventures that children tend to delight in. The bookseller here [wordery] delivered the volume in perfect condition in less time than predicted--I'd buy from them again.A book I read as a kid and now reading it to the next generation. My son loves the adventure and suspense.A regular reading session for the whole family at dinner time. Kept us all on the edge of our seats wanting to know what happened next.I loved these books when I was a child of about 10 years old. I just could not put them down. Unfortunately I do no longer have the books, so I bought one in the Kindle bookstore, just for old times sake and found that I still love them as much as in my youth. Read one to your kids when they are about eight and I bet they will be tempted to start reading them on their own just so they can share The Five's adventures without the presence of grown-ups.I loved this book because it is so mysterious and a real thriller to put together the puzzle. I loved this book and would recommend it to mystery loving children from eight to elevenA Classic. I loved it as a child. My 9 year old is hooked on to it now, and so is my 7 year old too, though I have to read it out to him mostly. Can’t wait for them to finish these 3 for me to order the next set!Loved this series as a kid and bought it for my younger sis. She loves it.I'm really annoyed that these are being sold, complete with original illustrations, as if they were the originals. They certainly are not and some of the changes are completely ludicrous. For example, everyone is described as wearing jeans instead of shorts, even though the illustrations clearly show them all wearing shorts. I can't imagine what is not politically correct about wearing shorts that it had to be changed. "Timmy" is changed to "Tim", and of course, any reference to punishment becomes "being told off". I didn't get very far in so not sure if there were other changes. This does a great disservice to child readers who I think are capable of understanding that things were different in earlier years. If George is allowed to row to an island by herself and is friends with a "fisher-boy", that's a sufficient sign that these books are set in past times. Please don't patronise children in this way and if the text has been changed, please make that clear.I wanted to re-read, revisit my childhood and catch-up some I missed. Slightly disappointed at the updated and making more politically correct; they were products of their time (as was Dickens) and in my opinion should have been left alone. Nonetheless less a good read.Fairly faithful to original and a delightful readI bought this for my 6-year-old daughter who has already enjoyed my reading her many other Blyton books. This was my first encounter of the Famous Five - most of the other Blyton books were already on my bookshelf from my own childhood.Whilst a little more serious than the likes of the Wishing Chair and the Magic Faraway tree, my daughter took to it straight away as the style is similar to The Ring O'Bells Mystery and The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat.Indeed one chapter a night is never enough!An enjoyable read, though like many Blyton books there have been a few minor changes to give things a more a modern feel. For the most part the text remains the same and more importantly so have the names.So faithful to the original, and a fun read with a few delightful illustrations peppered throughout.This is the Enid Blyton "Famous Five" Series of Books 1-3.1. Five on a Treasure Island.Julian, Dick and the youngest, Anne, go to stay with their Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny who has a daughter named Georgina, whom they have never met. When they meet they find out Georgina is very difficult and only answers to being called "George" as she has always wanted to be a boy! Slowly, though, they become friends, especially as George has a secret, her precious dog called "Timothy". George has been forbidden from keeping him, so she secretly keeps him with her friend, fisherman's son, Alf. To pay for his upkeep she gives Alf all her pocket money. Aunt Fanny lives in Kirrin Cottage and they have a farm called Kirrin Farm. Legend says that there are gold ingots buried somewhere nearby. But most excitingly, Kirrin Island has been gifted by Aunt Fanny to George! George takes all her cousins to Kirrin Island and tells them about the boat wreck under the sea and shows it to them. Then one day a storm brings the wreck to the surface and everyone explores it and find a tin in which some clues are left to where the ingots are kept. It's then a race against time as some criminals come to buy the island ostensibly to help tourism. Uncle Quentin who is a clever scientist but not very rich wishes to sell so he can give George and Aunt Fanny special comforts but little does he know the Famous Five will find a room filled with ingots on George's and her cousins' very own island, Kirrin Island.2. Five Go Adventuring Again.George and Anne and Timothy have now joined the same girl's boarding school. Julian and Dick as usual are together are their boy's boarding school. It's the Christmas Holidays and George has been promised an amazing holiday and Julian, Dick and Anne's home; unfortunately, their mother has scarlet fever and so is in quarantine and so they must go to George's home at Kirrin Cottage. George, who has always been with her parents, is quite behind in her studies and Julian and Dick had influenza last term, so they will be having a tutor for the holidays to help them catch up! Anne did quite well though. Uncle Quentin then decides to hire someone by the name of Mr Roland who is very knowledgeable about the scientific work he is working on and how he is going to change the nation with his formula. The children go to meet him at the railway station and are surprised to find that he is not so bad. However, he does not like Timothy the dog and neither does Timothy the dog like him! Anyone Timmy doesn't like, George doesn't like! So the battle lines are drawn. The children find a map which tells about dungeons and the like in Latin and ask Mr Roland about it. But could the children's (minus George and Timothy's) trust in Mr Roland be their biggest mistake? Some important core documents of the scientific work are stolen from Uncle Quentin's office and test tubes are destroyed. George nearly exposes Mr Roland who uses his good graces with Uncle Quentin to throw out the family protector (Timmy) from the house and into the dog kennel. They find out the artists who are staying as rentals in Kirrin Farm are Mr Roland's friends in their nefarious plan. George finds out quite by mistake where are the dungeon tunnels and the Famous Five save the day .... again!3. Five Run Away Together.George, Anne, Julian, Dick and Timothy are back again in Kirrin Cottage but George's mother is taken ill suddenly! Their old cook is also away as she is looking after a relative and a nasty lady called Clara Stick and her son Edgar and dog Tinker are instead "helping" at Kirrin Cottage. George's mother is rushed to hospital and Uncle Quentin goes with her, saying he would not return until Aunt Fanny is better. Mrs Stick's husband also lands up and the three of them and "Stinker" as the Five call him take advantage of the situation. Then George and her cousins and Timmy decide to run away to Kirrin Island, making the Sticks think they are catching the train home. An infuriated George had noticed some smoke from the island which could have been from day trippers. They then noticed a locked trunk in their wreck. Smugglers maybe? They decide to stay in a well-protected cave and had taken a lot of food and drink with them. As the clues start to click they realise that not smuggling, someone has been kidnapped, none other than a little girl named Jenny. Uncle Quentin rushes from the hospital to Kirrin Cottage as no one was receiving his phone calls and finds the house had been ransacked! (by none other than you-know-who "the Sticks and Stinker"). He rushes to the police and so do George and the others with little Jenny in tow. Julian explains it all and helps the police to arrest the Sticks and Stinker and the Famous Five do it again!Really cool books to get back into reading. Fun and enjoyable. I really like this author and this series. :-)I’d never read any of the Famous Five. And now here I am a middle aged man looking for something different to read. When a friend of mine (a primary teacher) said give these a go. I was very sceptical but went for it. I was very surprised, 3 top notch ripping yarns aimed at kids but magical enough to spark memories of den building, drinking pop and just having great fun. Can’t wait to read the red now. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️