![]() ![]() ![]() There’s a certain irony to it- a series of books where the freedom of children is tantamount, yet we have changed their names to prevent schoolyard giggling- how short-sighted we are!Īs an adult, books become longer, the language changes, the words are darker, the themes more complex. I feel sad that Enid Blyton’s characters were changed, made more politically correct, all negative background meanings removed, made safer. Dick and Fanny, due to their negative late 20 th century connotations, have been changed to Rick and Frannie. Instead of corporal punishment, she now simply shouts at the fairies and pixies in her school. In later editions, I’ve learned, Dame Slap became Dame Snap. They are a dedication to the dreamy soul in every child, every land a world for small citizens to explore, unabashed and unchecked. The books are written with a total absence of adult cynicism, which is perhaps what makes them so timeless. ![]() I’m a big crybaby, so my eyes welled up when the children climbed to the Land of Magic Medicines to get medicine for their mother. How sweet the characters are to each other, how evident their love and selflessness, their bravery and conviction. Nostalgia hits me hard in the chest while I re-read some of my favourite lands. ![]()
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