I haven’t heard of Enid Blyton until almost a week ago, and I began developing interest in her work after briefly researching her history. As someone who aspires to write a children’s book someday, I’ll be reading her books regularly moving forward for inspiration and continuous learning of different writing styles.
The book I read is called “Amelia Jane Again!”. Published in 1946. It’s about a naughty doll who does naughty things to the other toys in a nursery. It reminds me a bit of “Toy Story”, what with the idea of toys coming to life and doing their thing.
As an adult reading, I found the book to be unpretentious but shallow and inconsistent. It’s a collection of small stories of hit-and-miss quality. Some are simple but well-written – good setup and payoff, an amusing main character, and a consistent moral conveying that saying sorry doesn’t mean you genuinely are. Others played off more as silly gags that don’t have much of a payoff, making for some unsatisfying reading. Also, because every story follows the same formulaic structure, it got repetitive reading three or four stories in a row.
Overall, I didn’t find much entertainment out of “Amelia Jane Again!”. But I understand that this book isn’t for my age group. As a children’s book, it’s solid. The repetitive storytelling does drive home the consistent moral, and children generally crave repetition. While most of the characters are bland, the contrast makes Amelia Jane stand out as an engaging enough character, and the comeuppances are amusing to witness. Finally, the easy and straightforward writing means the stories are always moving, which prevents children from getting bored. And because not much is going on, the target audience won’t get confused either. It’s a good balance that invests young children, thus the book succeeds enough at what it’s going for.
Aesthetics: 7/11 (Not much colourful description, but the appealing illustrations fill the blanks)
Storytelling: 5/11 (Quality fluctuation hurts, but the best stories are decent and leave something of an impression)
Imagination: 8/11 (The book flows well from page to page, even though there’s not a lot of substance)
Emotions: 4/11 (I found some stories amusing and others boring. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I’m not a kid anymore)
58% – SATISFACTORY
by FictionalMediaBully