Holiday Reads: The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton: An Audiobook Mini Reviews

I was having an eleven-days-holiday, while our Moslem fellows are celebrating Eid. I've been meaning to re-read Enid Blyton's adventure books. You see, her books had been my childhood excitement, and it'd be perfect for holiday read. Then I found this audiobook of The Faraway Tree narrated by Kate Winslet! I'm not usually keen to read fantasy, but a children book in Kate Winslet's voice... I can hardly say no!

The Faraway Tree contains of four books - three novels and one short stories. Winslet only narrated the first three novels, so those were what I picked. These are mini reviews of them:

#1: The Enchanted Wood

Joe, Beth, and Frannie moved with their father and mother to a cottage in the country. There's a wood behind it, called The Enchanted Wood, where the trees whisper to each other. There they meet some elves, whose bag is robbed by a gnome. The children chase the gnome, but he runs away up an enormous tree. It's the magical Faraway Tree! Its top branches reach through the clouds, to the magical land that keeps changing. Once a land leaves the entrance hole of Faraway Tree, it will never return, and another land will then appear.

Up the Faraway Tree the children climb, and meet various sort of creatures. Some were rude, but the others are kind and friendly, such as Silky, a fair fairy with silky golden hair; the deaf Saucepan Man, a funny little man with saucepans and kettles hung all around his body; and MoonFace, the most amiable of them all, whose face is round and shiny like the moon. They all live along the Faraway Tree; their tiny houses are carved inside the trunk. I love MoonFace's house most because of the slippery slip! It's a hole in the middle of the trunk, down which one can slide through to the bottom of the tree. Fancy sliding down a tree!

With them, the three children embarked on delightful adventure after adventure through different lands. Sometimes they're dreadful enough (The Ice and Snow, the Roundabout Land) but sometimes they're really fun (Land of take-what-you-want, and Land of Birthdays). Their most exciting adventure was helping their new friends when The Faraway Tree was invaded by a group of Red Goblins.

#2: The Magic Faraway Tree

Rick is a cousin of Joe, Beth, and Frannie, who comes to stay with them as his mother is ill. He's a boisterous and greedy boy, the same age as Joe. He is skeptical about the Enchanted Wood at first, but soon is so excited to be in a magical adventure. So the three children take him to the Faraway Tree, and he comes along to several more of their adventures with MoonFace, Silky, and Saucepan Man on whichever strange lands happen to come on top of the tree.

My (and their) favorites are Land of the Goodies (reminds me of Hansel and Gretel with edible houses and all); and Land of do-what-you-like (whatever you wish to do, it happens immediately, like riding an elephant or wading on the beach). The most annoying is perhaps the Land of Dame Snap - what a wicked lady she is!

But the most thrilling one so far must be in the Land of Spells. They certainly are in a pickle there, and but for the clever help from Watsizname, the Angry Pixie, and Dame Washalot - who were angry to them often before, but came to help anyway - they might not have returned safely to their homes!

#3: The Folk of the Faraway Tree

A friend of the children's mother asked her to take care of her daughter, Connie, because she (Connie's mother) is ill. How convenient it is the practice of sending one's children to friends or relatives when they're ill! Anyway, Connie is a dainty, curious, spoilt girl who likes to prying at others' secret. She didn't believe at first of the Enchanted Wood and Faraway Tree. The tree folks don't like her, and the Saucepan Man in particular is often rude to her. But after some adventures in several lands: the Land of Marvels, the Giant Land (on the top of Jack's the beanstalk!), the Land of Nursery Rhyme, etc. Connie becomes quite an ordinary girl, and believes at last of the Faraway Tree.

Connie gets her most valuable lesson when she's listening to something she oughtn't at the Land of Secrets. She gets a spell that's taken her voice. Then they all go to the Land of Enchantments where MoonFace and Silky got enchanted. Luckily Saucepan Man quickly sets them and Connie free by his mother's spell, and they landed down again at the Faraway Tree just a split second before the Land moves away!

The last and most exciting adventure of the children and tree folks is when an army of trolls attack the roots of the Faraway Tree to dig for jewels, that the leaves gets withered, and the tree is dying. This is the most serious thing, and now the children, the tree folks, and the woodland creatures will join forces to save their beloved tree!

******

As always, Enid Blyton never disappoints in bringing the most exciting adventures we could imagine. It was delightful to read. And I guess, it's a perfect educational story too for children. In particular the symbiotic mutualism relationship between the tree folks and the Faraway Tree itself. The tree has given food and shelter to the folks, so when it is dying, the folks courageously fought its enemy. In return, the tree grew the best fruits the folks have ever tested. It's a good way to teach children to respect nature.

All in all, it has been an enjoyable reading and fantastic holiday. Once again, thank you Enid Blyton!

Rating: 4 / 5