Five on a Treasure Island (Knight Books)

by Enid Blyton

Paperback, 1991

Status

renew

Call number

823.912

Publication

Hodder Children's Books (1991), Edition: New Ed, 192 pages

Description

Enid Blyton died in 1968 but remains one of the best-known and best-loved writers of children`s stories. She is consistently voted a children`s favourite in author polls, and has over 600 children`s books to her credit, including the Famous Five series, the Secret Seven series, the Naughtiest Girl series - and the Malory Towers and St Clare`s series, both available from Hodder on audio.

User reviews

LibraryThing member benfulton

The Famous Five adventures begin with this tale. We are introduced to siblings Julian, Dick, and Ann, and their cousin Georgina (George) and her dog Timothy. A pretty straightforward children's adventure tale, the Five explore a sunken ship, the dungeons of a ruined castle, and have to let

themselves down into an old well to find a secret passage. Terrifically exciting if you are the right age for it; I guess I must be.

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LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

Originally published in 1942, Five on a Treasure Island was the first of twenty-one books devoted to the adventures of The Famous Five - siblings Julian, Dick and Anne, their cousin George (Georgina), and her dog Tim. When Julian, Dick and Anne come to stay with their Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin

at Kirrin Cottage, they aren't sure they will like their cousin, who is a determined tomboy with a penchant for losing her temper, and an only child's dislike of sharing. But the children soon bond as they find themselves caught up in an adventure involving lost gold ingots on nearby Kirrin Island. Will the Famous Five find the treasure in time...?

Inspired by an article which listed Enid Blyton as the sixth-most-popular author in the world, I have recently been trying to read some of her books - not always easy here in the United States, where she is relatively unknown. I found Five on a Treasure Island to be an engaging adventure story for young readers, particularly those who are at the series-reading stage. Although Blyton's writing here is rather formulaic, and she occasionally veers into overt moralizing (all those comments about George learning to share), I thought this title was far superior to anything in her fifteen-book Five Find-Outers and Dog series, which was my introduction to her work. I also appreciated that the edition I read had the original illustrations by Eileen A. Soper, and look forward to the next installment!

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LibraryThing member miyurose

This is a YA/children’s series I’ll be working on for the Daring Book Challenge. It’s the first I’ve heard of this series, and I wish I’d known about it as a child. I quite enjoyed it! In this first book, you are introduced to siblings Julian, Dick, and Anne, their cousin George (the

ultimate tomboy), and her dog Timmy. I wasn’t expecting the fifth of the five to be a dog, but he turns out to be a pretty important part of the team. I thought this was a great little adventure story with some twists I didn’t expect, and it holds up well nearly 70 years after it was written. I’ll have no problem listening to/reading more of these.

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LibraryThing member Jiraiya

This classic has an unexpected quality that caught me unawares. The childish and outdated parts consist almost entirely of the direct speech of children and adults. The early chapters and the lull before the adventure arrives are well crafted. The first day of reading was tinged with nostalgia.

Then the novelty wore off, and I began to be dismissive. But when the last third "act" came, the enjoyment of this book was heightened. Most stories, especially in contemporary adult novels and movies, don't have the number of twists that this book had. After overcoming a danger, protagonists are usually rewarded with peace and safety. But this book managed to surprise me. Enid Blyton knew what she was doing when she ended the book with the promise of further books. She can rest at ease. Her legacy will endure for at least decades more, if not centuries.

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LibraryThing member LaviniaRossetti

At the beginning of the summer holidays, three children named Julian, Dick, and Anne go to stay with their Uncle Quentin. The only thing is, this scientist is very busy, and hates to be disturbed. Writing books, as he claims later on, does not give him enough money to buy what he so wants for his

dear wife Fanny and his little girl, Georgina. If there is one small noise, he rises into a great temper. That is what feared the children of going there. They were all scared of him.

When the kids arrive, they realise that Georgina is not the sort of girl they imagined her to be. She was bad-tempered, sulky, and would never reply if her name was called. She insisted upon being called 'George', and, as the cousins soon found out, had always wanted to be a boy. She wore boy clothing, had a boy haircut. She was rude, for a start, especially to the youngest of the children, Anne, of whom she called a baby.

But when George finds that she prefers to have others around her, to play with, to share with, and to talk to, she lets them have one first go at going to her beloved Kirrin Island and Castle. Her mother had promised her these fascinating things, and the girl was not going to object.

Soon the cousins get so addicted to the island, sea and castle, and of course, George's dog (who wasn't allowed in the house anymore), Timothy, that they went with their new friend to a holiday at the island. Wrecks are washed up, maps are found, within a long adventure so are the greated treasures you could imagine.

But of course, you won't know anything else unless you read this brilliant book!

Enid Blyton is a fantastic author in my opinion, and without doubt is probably one of the best in the world. Her books can be for any age depending on which they are, but I say this one would be around 8-11-year-olds.

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LibraryThing member woollymammoth

My First Enid Blyton book. Brought from a second hand bookshop in Llandudno North Wales, this is what started my obbession.

An account of four children and a dog going on a spiffing adventure and rescuing lots of gold bars.

LibraryThing member SueDNim

The book that taught me to love ginger beer, Enid Blyton, and the Famous Five.
U.S. Title for this book is "Five Find a Secret Way"

LibraryThing member DebbieMcCauley

Julian, Dick and Anne’s parents have decided to go away on holiday to Scotland. The children are sent to stay with their Aunt Fanny, Uncle Quentin and cousin Georgina at Kirrin Bay. Georgina looks and acts like a boy and refuses to answer to her proper name. Instead, she tells them, they must

call her George. It takes George a while to get used to having her cousins about as she has been on her own for so long. She introduces Julian, Dick and Anne to her best friend, Timothy the dog. Timothy is hidden at fisher-boy Alf’s house as George’s father told her to get rid of the mongrel. The children spend their time rowing to nearby Kirrin Island, which belongs to Aunt Fanny but is promised to George when she grows up. Just off the island an old wreck that is purported to contain gold can be seen under the water. On the island are the ruins of a castle. One day a fierce storm lifts the old shipwreck out of the shallows and onto the island. The children plan to explore the wreck and search for the lost gold. Unfortunately other people find out about the ship and want the gold for themselves and so an adventure to outwit them ensues. A classic read, a bit dated in places, but still a good adventure.

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LibraryThing member Praj05

This is one that lured me into the reading world. I still remember it like yesterday; it was during my 4th grade summer vacations. I was down with high fever and was crying for days for missing out on my yearly trip.So to pacify my tantrums , i was gifted this book. Ah! the mysterious world of

Julian, Anne, Dick and my favorite George made me forget my pain and i ended up reading the whole series volume in that summer. Thanks Enid! for bringing me to a world of limitless imagination.

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LibraryThing member electrascaife

Four cousins (plus one dog) have an adventure exploring an island with castle ruins and the promise of buried treasure.
Meh. Too syrupy sweet for my tastes. I see why kiddos like these books, but they aren't the kind of children's book that appeals to all ages, I think.

LibraryThing member atreic

An enjoyable reread of a book I hadn't come back to since I was a child. Interesting reading George's adamance to be named and treated as a boy with modern eyes - is this a trans story? Is this a problem with sexism, where she only doesn't want to be a girl because girls are Rubbish and Can't Do

Things? Beyond that, this is a fun story of children saving the day by finding hidden treasure, so long as you don't think about it too hard when they are climbing on a rope above a drop of hundreds and hundreds of feet...

Also of note for the heavy handed moral that 'things are much more fun if you share them, and it's good to learn to be nice to people and have friends'

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LibraryThing member cbl_tn

Julian, Dick, and Anne’s parents send them to spend their summer holidays with their Uncle Quentin, their Aunt Fanny, and their cousin Georgina, who prefers to be called George. As an only child, George is used to doing as she pleases without regard to others, but her cheerful cousins soon win

her over. She lets her cousins in on her biggest secrets – her dog, Tim, who stays with a fishing family because her parents won’t allow him in her house, and Kirrin Island. The island belongs to George’s mother, but her mother told her that it should be hers. As the title suggests, there may be hidden treasure on the island, and the children are determined to find it. The hunt is a greater adventure than they had imagined.

I wish I had discovered this series as a child. How I would have loved it! This adult reader marveled at the freedom the children enjoyed 10, 11, and 12. The adults in the story had no qualms about allowing the children to row to the island alone and to spend the night there alone. It’s unlikely that today’s children would enjoy the same freedom.

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LibraryThing member Helenliz

This was fun, if somewhat far fetched.
Julian, Dick & Anne spend the holiday with their Aunt, Uncle & lone cousin, Georgina - who does not want to be a girl in any way. it's never made clear why, but she has cut her hair short and only answers to George. In contrast Anne is quite a girly little

girl. And both annoyed me in their own way.
It is all infuriatingly middle class.
Having said that, George has certain scruples, she won't accept sweets from the other children as she can't reciprocate. Julian and the others have to navigate a very lonely little girl who is rather set in her ways.
The finale seems very unlikely, but you've got to admire the inventiveness of the author in setting up situations and then giving the children a means of getting out of them. At times it felt a little like the sharing message was being shoved down your throat and the finale was even more middle class angst.
I agree with the people who said that these were better than the Secret Seven, but I'm not sure that I would ever have been all that thrilled with them. My childhood was much gritter than this.

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