An adventure involving trains6 August 2012tWell I have just finished the seventh Famous Five book but that means that there is another fourteen to go. Fortunately they generally do not take me all that long to read, though it really also depends on whether I put a lot of effort into actually reading it because even though it doesn't take me all that long, I generally find myself spending most of my time reading it simply to get it finished within a 24 hour period. However I have set a goal to attempt to get through all of them (plus the other Blyton books that I have) so that I can be fair when reviewing them.tOkay, I would hardly rank these books at the top of my must read list, and I am not really trying to relive my childhood by reading them (though from what I have heard a lot of people are doing so, though I suspect that a lot of these people are collecting them not for themselves but rather for their children so as to give them a taste of what they read when they were a child).tThis one has the five go off on a camp with one of the school science teachers and they take them to the moorlands where it turns out that there are a lot of old railway tunnels underneath. Once again we have the five descend into the depths of the earth to explore some caves, and we also have them stumbling on some rather nefarious people who are up to no good (and once again they are smugglers). I do notice that not all of the Enid Blyton mystery stories involve going into a cave network, but they all do seem to involve some children uncovering some criminal conspiracy and then bringing the police into the action. I do wonder whether this will encourage children to do the same in real life, and as such get themselves into a lot of trouble, namely because these types of people are not really nice people. However, the catch is that since there are children involved, these days this will act to seriously aggravate the event.tIt appears that Blyton is starting to settle into a standard style in these stories: they are on holidays; and they do not seem to age. It is funny that so far they have not had an adventure at their school, but considering that they go to different schools, this is not surprising, particularly since in those days, as I suspect, there were not really any co-ed schools. This is changing now, especially since a number of the boys and girls schools are becoming co-ed. I personally cannot say whether single-sex or co-ed is better or worse since I only ever went to co-ed schools. Some suggest that by removing the opposite sex removes a distraction, but once again, I only ever went to co-ed schools so I cannot say.tOne difference here is that an adult is thrown into the mix, being Mr Luffy, whom I suspect is a science teacher since he is going out to collect insects. To be honest this is rather odd because none of my teachers ever wanted to know us outside of school hours. In fact I have known some teachers who actively avoid the children when they are out of school and are incredibly rude to them. We see this type of attitude in The Hangover where one of the main characters, who is a teacher, after taking the kids' money for an excursion off to Las Vegas with him, telling a kid to bugger off when the kid approaches him after school. As mentioned, I have heard teachers brag about acting in similar matters.tTo be honest, with attitudes like this, no wonder the kids hate their teachers. I didn't necessarily hate mine, though I did notice that they generally did not want to go out of their way to assist you if you needed help. Okay, the only time I ever asked for non-curriculum help was when I missed my bus and asked the teacher if he could help me catch the bus to which the reply was 'that is not going to happen'. While I may think otherwise, when I think about it more, the time it would take to get to the car, start the car, and then drive off after the bus the bus would be long gone, so I suspect that, in the end, he was right.
Liburan kali ini Lima Sekawan diberi izin untuk berkemah ke padang rumput dengan syarat ditemani oleh Pak Luffy, guru sekolah Julian dan Dick. Selama berkemah, mereka berkenalan dengan Jock, anak pemilik Olly's Farm yang letaknya tidak jauh dari lokasi kemah mereka. Dan tanpa sengaja mereka menemukan pelataran kereta api yang sudah tidak terpakai selama bertahun-tahun. Namun, kisah seram tentang Kereta Api Hantu pun menyertai penemuan mereka itu. Bukan Lima Sekawan namanya jika tidak penasaran. Bersama Jock, mereka pun menyelidiki keberadaan Kereta Api Hantu. Walau dihiasi pertengkaran, akhirnya mereka berhasil membongkar sindikat pasar gelap yang selama ini dijalankan oleh Pak Andrews, ayah tiri Jock.
What do You think about Five Go Off To Camp (2015)?
Enid Blyton has long been among my favorite authors, and her Five series has long captivated me. What kind of magic is it that these children were allowed to go off camping, walking, visiting towns, rowing and such without an adult present? My mother seemed permanently glued to my side until I was 16, there was no way I could have gotten up to their hijinks.But it was another time, and people seemed to trust one another, especially with children.In this book, we see the four children (plus Timmy of course!) go camping with Mr Luffy as their guardian. Of course Luffy does little but show up to mealtimes and drive them when necessary (oh and call the police precisely at the right moment) but he's a fun character none the less. The five are on the scent of spook trains, but Julian, somehow forgetting all George has done in the past, puts her in the 'girl' category and won't let her accompany them at night. Of course George gets her own back and ends up being a great help and rescuing the stupid boys. George was always my favorite character, she's tough and spunky and she knows what she wants and goes out to get it. She can and does prove she's as good as any boy, and my only frustration is bossy Julian always trying to stop her. Of course, Anne is the other girl in the five and although she always sets my teeth on edge with her stereotypical femininity, She comes through too and helps Mr Luffy bring in the police when times get toughA cute little story, and one of my favorites out of the five series. Enid Blyton captured something beautiful in her books, and it's a shame kids these days aren't reading her as voraciously as they did in my parents and long before that time. She is my little breath of innocence in my reading world of mainly paranormal and crime, and it's always a great pleasure to pick up one of her books (this copy belonged to my best friend growing up's grandmother, who neatly printed her name inside the cover) and remember that someone long before I was even alive loved this book. Someone held it in their hands and read it before me. Maybe they sat in the sun, or a favorite chair inside. Maybe their mother read it them at night. I know the grandmother herself read it to her daughter, and that daughter to my friend before she declared it childish, and when the books became a dusty lot on her shelf long after her grandmother had passed away, I asked about buying them. 20 beautiful sixties editions of Enid Blyton, all mine now. The memories I bought with them are free.
—Kirsti
Dari semua buku lima sekawan, buku ini yang paling saya ingat hingga sekarang "Lima sekawan dan kereta hantu" tidak ada kata memburunya. Dulu sampulnya cuma dua tone warna coklat tua dan krem, bergambar siluet George alias Georgina dengan anjingnya si Timmy. Begitu terkesannya saya, sampai-sampai sewaktu saya mendapat hadiah anjing peking saya namai dia Timmy, padahal anjing tersebut betina. Keranjingan, saya mencari semua buku Enyd. Beli, pinjam, dan tukar. sayang sekali saya bukan penyimpan buku yang baik. Dimana buku-buku tersebut sekarang saya tidak tahu, terutama sesudah rumah kami direnovasi. Padahal jaman dulu saya selalu membanggakan diri punya koleksi Enyd lengkap, entah itu lima sekawan, seri petualangan, Sapta siaga, Pasukan mau tahu, dan Malory Towers. Berhutang banyak saya dengan Enyd Blyton, meliarkan imajinasi saya yang notabene anak kota tidak lagi sumpek, namun ikut menjelajahi berbagai macam petualangan detektif di berbagai tempat hingga ikut catfight dengan para putri di Malory. ...less "
—Leny Helena
I am rereading this as an adult. I really liked this one. I read it after the first 4 re-reads so it is difficult to compare to my previous scores. It is at least 4.25 and maybe higher. I liked the camping scenario. There were no ragamuffins/gypsies in this one which was a nice break. Although there was the put upon boy but his mother had his back. I liked the illustration and testing of George's character. It was very Mad Men in its revelation of George being between a rock and a hard place. Yes someone has to stay behind with Anne. And somehow George becomes the bad guy when Julian gets his way. And then Anne and George are at odds. Very Peggy and Joan. It also shows how family dynamics really work. Rage! Rage!I bet you didn't expect this deep analysis. I liked the setting, the Moors, the food, Mr. Luffy who for once was an adult who wasn't bad, mean, etc.
—Milley
