Discover the Magic Faraway Tree and explore the amazing lands it can lead to! An irresistible new story by bestselling author Jacqueline Wilson, set in a much-loved world.
Three kids, Milo, Mia and Birdy, are on a countryside holiday when they wander into an Enchanted Wood. Among the whispering leaves, there is a beautiful tree that stands high above the rest. The Magic Faraway Tree is home to remarkable creatures including a fairy called Silky, her best friend Moonface and more. Birdy is delighted to find that fairies are real. Even her older brother and sister are soon won over by the magic of the Faraway Tree and the extraordinary places they discover above it, including the Land of Unicorns. But not every land is so much fun. Danger looms in the Land of Dragons. Will Moonface’s magic work in time to save the children?
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton was Jacqueline Wilson’s own favourite book as a young child. Now Britain’s favourite contemporary children’s author, creator of Hetty Feather and Tracy Beaker, revisits this glorious magical world, weaving a brand-new story perfect for the next generation of young readers. Discover the magic!
I was a huge Enid Blyton fan as a child! Childhood me happily made my way though the back catalogues of Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, and Jacqueline Wilson. So imagine my delight in finding out that Jaqueline Wilson was working on a new story for The Magic Faraway Tree! This was like 2/3 of my childhood literary heroes joining forces. When I saw the cover art and saw that it looked very much like the style of Quentin Blake, it was very nearly a full house of childhood reading joy!
Firstly, I need to acknowledge that I am a 35 year old lady. This book was not written for me. While there was surely an expectation that the (now grown up) fans of the original series would enjoy this, the book was made for kids. I think the age range of this book was about 6-10, which was around the time that I read the original series.
This was a reimagined version of The Magic Faraway Tree, brought up to date for a new (and old) audience. This was something that felt really important. The original series is a classic but I am fairly certain that they will include some problematic moments. I have avoided rereading them to my step kids because of these concerns. So it was lovely to have an updated version of the story. Unfortunately, the names of the children were updated for a modern audience which I understand but did miss the chuckles of the original names.
This was an entirely new adventure and included all of the original characters- Silky, Moonface, Saucepan Man etc. The adventures took the expected route of some kids experiencing some amazing times in the woods with magical panda and magical friends.
When I started reading this, I was worried that I was too old to enjoy this trip down nostalgia lane. I found Birdy to just be very annoying but I did have to remind myself that a. She was annoying to adult me because she was a small child doing small child things and b. this was a book for children. After they children reached the tree, I was back into enjoying the book.
I thought that this was such a fun reimagining of a well loved series. I really enjoyed this book, it was a very sweet and lovely adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed Enid Blyton’s world being brought up to date by Jacqueline Wilson. This book gave me the warm and fuzzies. Originally I had preordered this in the hope that my step kids might be interested but they really weren’t as they are a little bit too old for it. Maybe Jacqueline Wilson could work on The Secret Seven next please because I’d really love to go back to that series!
Kapowski Reads 