{"id":10416,"date":"2026-07-27T08:36:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/?post_type=lr_article&p=10416"},"modified":"2026-07-27T08:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:36:52","slug":"best-enid-blyton-books","status":"publish","type":"lr_article","link":"https:\/\/readingmate.co.uk\/littlereads\/articles\/best-enid-blyton-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Enid Blyton Books (and where to start with each series)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ask any room of adults for the best Enid Blyton books and everyone will have their faves. The Famous Five camp, the Malory Towers camp, one person in the corner insisting nothing beats the Secret Seven. Everybody’s right, because everybody met her at a different age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s the trick to choosing for your own child. Enid Blyton<\/a> wrote hundreds of books across wildly different shelves, so the best one isn’t a single title, it’s the right series at the right age. If yours is deep in adventure books for 9 year olds<\/a> already, you’ll want a different door in than the parent of a 6 year old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s also worth noting that Blyton was writing in a very <\/em>different cultural moment, and some families have stepped away from her books entirely because of it. That’s entirely their prerogative. I’m only offering up a guide for the parents who want to share a story from their own childhood and make a memory with their child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here’s the whole map, series by series, with the exact book to start each one on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What age are Enid Blyton books suitable for?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Broadly, 6 to 11, with each series occupying its own step. The Secret Seven are the youngest in the bunch, working from about 6 as a read-aloud and 7 solo. Malory Towers suits confident readers from 8. The Famous Five, St Clare’s, The Naughtiest Girl and the Adventure series all sit happily at 8 to 10, with 9 the sweet spot on our shelves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that nothing in this list needs a content warning. Blyton peril is picnic-adjacent. The scariest thing that happens in most of these books is a locked door or a light in a tower window, which is exactly why children who like a bedtime story at night love them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best Enid Blyton books, series by series<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. The Famous Five (from 8 or 9)<\/h3>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/div>

Five on a Treasure Island<\/p>

Enid Blyton<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Adventure<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Still the front door to Blyton, and if someone in your house has specifically asked for the Famous Five, start at the very beginning with Five on a Treasure Island. Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog head for Kirrin Island, where a storm-wrecked ship and the tale of George’s great-great-great-grandfather’s lost gold set up the treasure hunt. Four children, a dog, an island and no adults. That’s the formula, and it has never stopped working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They’re built for the six-week summer holiday, and if that’s where you are right now, our summer reading list for kids<\/a> carries the same energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Malory Towers (from 8)<\/h3>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/div>

First Term at Malory Towers<\/p>

Enid Blyton<\/span><\/span>Age 8<\/span><\/span>Friendship<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\n

The best-loved of the school series, and the one with the most going on under the surface. In First Term at Malory Towers, Darrell Rivers arrives thrilled to be starting boarding school, makes friends and mischief in roughly equal measure, and has to wrestle her fiery temper while new girl Gwendoline gets on absolutely everyone’s nerves. Midnight feasts, lacrosse, a pool in the rocks. And the terms keep coming, right through to Goodbye Malory Towers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when they’ve read the lot and are bereft, our books like Malory Towers<\/a> guide is the rescue plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The Secret Seven (from 6 or 7)<\/h3>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/div>

Secret Seven Adventure<\/p>

Enid Blyton<\/span><\/span>Age 7<\/span><\/span>Adventure<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\n

The younger sibling of the Famous Five, in every sense. Shorter chapters, smaller mysteries, a shed with a password. In Secret Seven Adventure, a priceless pearl necklace goes missing and the Seven are first off the mark to catch the thief, because they actually saw him making his escape. If your child is 6 or 7 and desperate to join the big kids’ Blyton club, this is their door. And the plots stand alone, so you can start with any of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. The Naughtiest Girl (from 8 or 9)<\/h3>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/div>

The Naughtiest Girl in The School<\/p>

Enid Blyton<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Friendship<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\n

The school series for the child who finds school stories a bit too well behaved. Elizabeth Allen arrives at boarding school spoilt, selfish and with a plan: be the naughtiest pupil there’s ever been and get sent home. Being bad turns out to be harder than it looks. The Naughtiest Girl Again follows straight on, and Elizabeth is the Blyton heroine most likely to make a modern child laugh out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. The Adventure series (from 9)<\/h3>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/div>

The Island of Adventure<\/p>

Enid Blyton<\/span><\/span>Age 9<\/span><\/span>Mystery<\/span><\/div><\/div>›<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\n

The underrated one, and my tip for the child who’s already done the Famous Five. Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, Jack and Kiki the parrot are on holiday in Cornwall when they realise something very sinister is happening on the mysterious Isle of Gloom, with its abandoned copper mines and secret tunnels under the sea. Noticeably more menacing than Kirrin Island. The Castle of Adventure comes next, flashing lights in a distant tower and all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. St Clare’s (from 9)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Malory Towers’ twin, quite literally. The Twins at St Clare’s<\/a> opens with Pat and Isabel O’Sullivan planning to give everyone at their new school a few surprises, and getting a shock themselves instead. If Darrell Rivers has already come and gone in your house, this is the natural next term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quick word for the grown-ups who grew up on these<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two things worth knowing before you hand your childhood over. Modern editions have been lightly updated, so the odd name and phrase won’t match your memory of them. And the series you loved at 9 might not be the one your child starts with, and that’s fine. The right Blyton is the one that matches the reader in front of you, not the reader you were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What hasn’t changed is the pull of them. Children still disappear into these books for exactly the reasons you did. Islands, towers, passwords, picnics, and adults who are conveniently somewhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just so you know…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Little Reads stocks 34 Enid Blyton books across the Famous Five, Malory Towers, the Secret Seven, St Clare’s, The Naughtiest Girl, the Adventure series and the Five Find-Outers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a hand-picked library of 3,000+ books for children aged 5 to 11. A free account gives you 100+ free books, and full access is \u00a37.99 a month after a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re a library, not a classroom, so it’s not the app for phonics or learning to read. And if it’s the Faraway Tree you’re after, I’ll be honest, we don’t have it yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for a child who wants an island, a wreck and a dog called Timmy, we can sort that tonight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The best Enid Blyton books, sorted by series and age. Where to start with the Famous Five, Malory Towers and the Secret Seven, and what age each series suits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_cta_badge":"","lr_cta_headline":"Five go looking for a new library?","lr_cta_subline":"A library of 3,000+ books - hand-picked by a former English teacher, delivered through a calm, ad-free app. If your child already loves reading, we keep up.","lr_byline":"","lr_byline_url":""},"book_tag":[1045],"age_group":[29,31,19,26,24],"book_author":[309],"class_list":["post-10416","lr_article","type-lr_article","status-publish","hentry","book_tag-adventure-books","age_group-books-for-10-year-olds","age_group-books-for-6-year-olds","age_group-books-for-7-year-olds","age_group-books-for-8-year-olds","age_group-books-for-9-year-olds","book_author-enid-blyton"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBest Enid Blyton Books | Little Reads<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The best Enid Blyton books, sorted by series and age. 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