This first book in the Enid Blyton Famous Five series was published in 1942 and has been read by millions of children throughout the world since then.
I read many books from this series when I was at primary school in the 1950s and when in grade five we all took a favouite book to school to go in the class library for the year my selection was a book from this series. A number of the other children also added Famous Five books to the classroom library which gave us the chance to read other titles. This was my introduction to libraries as there was no library in the school and no public library in our area until many years later.
This year my eight year old grandson has been reading Five on a Treasure Island with me. He always reads to me after school but with the lockdown due to COVID-19 these sessions stopped. We had read two Secret Seven books so when his father called in I gave him another title in the Secret Seven series plus a copy of Five on a Treasure Island, mainly for my ten year old grand-daughter to read. A few days later my son rang to say that Aiden had decided to read the Famous Five book and, as I had another copy of the same book at home, perhaps we could trial reading sessions via the computer.
What is the attraction of this book? Aiden persisted with reading the introductory chapters but his interest piqued once the real action of the story began. The story is about three siblings, Julian, Dick and Anne, who visit their counsin, George (do not call me Georgina) and her dog, Timmy, whose house is near the beach. The visiting children are excited when they discover that there is a small island nearby with the remains of an old castle with dungeons. There is also an old shipwreck which can be viewed under the water. During a storm the wreck emerges on nearby rocks and when the children explore it they locate a treasure map. The children must locate the treasure before anyone else does.
In these reading sessions, with larger books, Aiden and I share the reading. He will read a couple of pages and then it is my turn to do some reading before he continues. Earlier this week Aiden became so involved with his reading that he read the whole chapter himself (around ten pages). Needless to say he was very pleased with himself. He has also checked the book and noticed that there are no illustrations and proudly told me that this is the first book that he has read with no pictures.
There have also been discussions about the names of the children - whether Julian is a boy or a girl, for instance - and how different names are popular at different times and in different countries. The structure of chapter books has also been discussed with the initial chapters, especially in a series, introducing the characters and where they live - then the adventure begins and the story often becomes more exciting as the book continues.
With only a chapter or two to go the excitement is mounting, especially as Aiden has checked the chapter headings. What will we read next? That is the next decision, and there are many possibilities on our bookshelves, but this exercise has proved to Aiden that he can read 'big' chapter books with no pictures and enjoy them.
Aiden has also told me that he prefers to read sitting next to me instead of reading to a face on the computer.
Aiden's ten year old sister has also started reading the book at home. Hopefully she will enjoy the story too and be encouraged to read more books.
(November 2020) Since originally writing this post Aiden has also read Five go adventuring again and Five go off to camp.He is now reading the BFG by Roald Dahl.
After reading this book his sister asked to have reading sessions with me again and we have read the first two Harry Potter books together and she is now reading the third book on her own. We are currently reading Mister Monday by Garth Nix.
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