Tomboy and Girly Girl: It's very subtle, but Fanny seems to be more of a Tomboy, and Bessie is more of a Girly Girl. Enid Blyton had a way with words - more specifically - a way with food. Her numerous books, while telling the stories of children having adventures in faraway lands or solving mysteries on a private island (a re-read of some of the Famous Five books has now revealed to me at an older age that these families must be loaded. I mean, a private island with its own ruins?!) always seemed to being about the imagery of picnics and fresh baked breads. Design a New Land: Have the children brainstorm, name and draw their own imaginative magical lands that could be at the top of the Faraway Tree, sharing their ideas with the class afterwards. Remove from oven and allow to sit for a few minutes before removing them from the pan by lifting the baking paper. Leave to cool while we make the glaze. Only One Name: You never find out the children's surname, and none of the Faraway Tree residents appear to have surnames. Or in the case of Mr. Watizname and Dame Washalot, any first names.

Leave in the mixer for another 4-5 minutes, gradually adding in your sultanas at the end. I found I had to manually work the sultanas through at this stage to ensure they would be properly distributed. No wonder these books are so popular. The plot-line whets the appetite immediately because not only are fairy-folk found to be living in the tree but there is also the added attraction which begs the question: What land is at the top of the tree today? To obtain an answer, some climbing needs to be done and that's exactly what the children do several days later. Up they go and the very first person they encounter is an extremely angry pixie who accuses them of peeping in his window. There is an altercation that will make the children remember this little chap for a long time. They climb further and it's all very exciting wondering who lives behind the little doors which they glimpse as they progress towards the top. Yes, they are going right to the top so obviously none of them suffer from vertigo or in English — a "fear of high places." Another person they meet is called Silky and she would be about the prettiest little character in all of the several hundred Enid Blyton books that exist and I'm speaking of the fairy, elf, or pixie category, rather than the human one. Father Christmas, who each year put the most attractive doll in the world at the top of his own tree, chose Silky for that honour at one stage of her life but unfortunately he had to bypass the idea because Silky is not a doll — she is a real live elf. She might also be looked upon as a fairy because a little confusion has been brought about by the fact that as books are reprinted new artists are called upon and when Rene Cloke took over the reins she changed the Dorothy Wheeler concept of Silky by drawing the character a little smaller and bestowing her with wings. We are at the mercy of the illustrators because Eileen Soper who was yet another Blyton artist, put wings on some of her pixies and not on others so maybe elves could have wings as well but in the long run — it doesn't really matter. I've forgotten exactly what Google Buns are like - are they some kind of bun or sponge mixture with a giant currant filled with sherbet in the middle, or is there more to them than that? I suppose I might start by mixing up some bun or sponge mixture (whichever it is). I don't know whether sherbet can be cooked? To be on the safe side, I think I'd cook the buns and then make a hollow at the top in the middle, stuff currants and sherbet in the hollow, and replace part of the bun I'd hollowed out on the top. Can't quite imagine what it would taste like! So when I began reading The Enchanted Wood, all I had read was its title. Yep, you got me right. I hadn't even read the blurb. I mean, I had thought of reading it but then I thought, eh, it's an Enid Blyton book. I'll love it either way. So I didn't read it and jumped into it without a single thought in my mind. And guess what? I was not disappointed despite that!Some of the worlds in the Faraway Tree shows up in another Blyton book, The Wishing Chair. Such as Topsy-Turvy Land and the Land of Goodies. The main characters are Jo, Bessie and Fanny (updated in recent revisions to Joe, Beth and Frannie), who are three siblings. Fanny is the youngest, Bessie is next in age and Jo is their big brother. They live near the Enchanted Wood and are friends of the residents of the Faraway Tree. Other characters include: The Faraway Tree series were particular favourites of mine however, and I had been hankering to revisit them for some time. I knew I was taking the risk of marring my rose-tinted memories of this series but decided to proceed, regardless.

British Weather: Averted, the children seem to be blessed with mostly sunny and beautiful weather. Maybe because they live near an enchanted forest?. I do have some bugbears, mostly that the 'pc-ifying' has seen it necessary to change some of the character names. Frankly I do not care if Fanny means something in one country that it doesn't mean in another - look at all the different meanings that we discovered 'Suri' had when someone decided to name their child that. Mostly though, Dame Snap should have stayed Dame Slap, it was far more accurate a name for her and made her even more horrifying! My class agreed when I told them about this. Interesting to note that this review is actually a highly effective stupid-magnet. You wouldn't believe the earnest, scolding comments I've deleted. Hilarious.When I started reading this, I felt I have read this already but then parts of it I couldn't remember. There is a character called Moonface which I was sure I have read about somewhere but then again I was equally sure I haven't in fact read this book.... And finally I figured out why this story and characters felt a bit familiar...It's because I have watched Enchanted Lands which is based on this book series. There are a few versions and recipes online already, but I’ve kinda gone my own way with it, of course the general outline of how this was done can really be done with any particular bun recipe that you want. I used a hot cross bun recipe, I really wanted that fluffy texture that’s not quite so sweet, with the subtle spiced flavours to have as a direct comparison to the burst of sweet sherbet from the inside. I just used a recipe from delightful adventures that I use all the time - I’ve never had it not work. I generally kind of tweak the recipe each time I make it by adding different things so the recipe below will be similar but not identical to theirs.

The initially reluctant DS#1 (age 8) was sold after a chapter or two, stole the book, and immediately read the whole thing - further, he read it at least twice while I was still doling it out a chapter or two at a time to his siblings. Roll each piece into a ball and place them together in the pan, they should be somewhat tight and touching. Cover again with a tea towel and leave for another 30 minutes in a warm place to rise again. Preheat your oven to 190C. Review by Terry Gustafson Brief Summary by Robert Houghton: When Curious Connie comes to stay with Jo, Bessie and Fanny, the three children are keen to introduce her to their magical friends in the Faraway Tree – but Connie doesn't believe in magic, or fairy-folk, and pours scorn on everything she sees. Even so, they explore a host of lands, including Nursery Rhyme Land, the land of Dame Slap, and climb up the Ladder That Has No Top, but then disaster strikes: The Faraway Tree is dying – its leaves curling up and no fruit growing on its branches. What is wrong with the magical tree, and can it be saved before it's too late?

Faraway Tree

This was one of my favourite books when I was younger and it was lovely to revisit a a familiar story, this time in an edition beautifully illustrated by Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone. Their artwork is perfectly suited to the book. After two books, I still can't tell you the difference between the two sisters. After two books, I still couldn't give a damn if The Magic Faraway Tree got chopped and carved into wooden haemorrhoid applicators (as seen on QI). Moon Face is still creepy as frak.

The children learn of other inhabitants. There's one chap who's forgotten his name, and there's a large owl and also a washer-woman who lives near the top. When I first read about this resident laundress I visualized her balancing on a broad branch with a kind of cauldron in which she did all her washing. The woman whose name is appropriately Dame Washalot would have possessed her own house in the tree-trunk and probably washed the clothes inside but how on earth would she get rid of the water? The children receive the answer to this question — particularly Bessie! The Old Woman who Lives in a Shoe has her own land, and at one point she takes up residence in Moon-Face's rooms while he's temporarily away. The children are experts at the climb. On the way up, they know to avoid Dame Washalot who's always doing her dirty washing, and emptying the water down the tree. Phew. Hair-Trigger Temper: The Angry Pixie has one. Also everyone from the Land of Tempers; it's said that if you lose your temper there, then you're forced to live there for the rest of your life (which is the reason the Angry Pixie never went up there himself).After all the intensity has passed it's "Goodbye!" to the Faraway Tree for this session and what better way to bow out than to visit one more land — a place that is simply one great Treat with a capital "T" and after that we are left waiting for the next book to arrive. Some of the changes were criticised in a review by Alison Flood. [3] Continuations by other authors [ edit ] Place the yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar and the lukewarm water in bowl for your stand mixer and leave to foam up for a few minutes. The Saucepan Man mishearing what people say, because he's a little deaf from the clashing of the various pots and pants he keeps strung about his person. The Faraway Tree is a series of three novels (and one picture-strip book) by British children's author Enid Blyton.