Famous Five Colour Short Stories: Message in a Bot

If you like me remember Enid Blyton's The Famous Five stories from their childhood then you might be scratching your head about this one. It is not one of the original adventures written by Enid Blyton but a new short story written by another author.And unlike the books of my childhood with only a few black and white illustrations, this book is fully illustrated in colour. In fact, it would be ideal for a reluctant reader as it has an almost comic book style except that there are not speech bubbles and the text/story is interspersed with the bright and colourful cartoon-style illustrations.The actual story seems to be in the style of writing (only slightly modernized for this generation) I remember from my childhood, although of course it has been many years since I read a Famous Five story. The plot is a typical one too: finding a faded message in a bottle, the Famous Five set off on a treasure hunt. A good short and fun introduction to the Famous Five that can be followed by reading the original stories.

Good short story. Bit expensive for the size of the book, it's easily read quite quickly.

Hannah Salt3 days agoI remember my Dad reading the original Famous Five stories to me as a child and being fully engrossed in the adventures they went on. This is not written by Enid Blyton but instead another author who has based this short story on the original books.While I was dubious of a re-make it’s actually quite good. My 4 year old son has thoroughly enjoyed listening to their adventures. Written in much simpler text, with colourful illustrations on every page it is very different to the original but is perhaps a good introduction to them.

Many of us read the 'Famous Five' growing up and even then, they had a charm but felt old fashioned. The series have had a reboot and Sufiya Ahmed and Becka Moor have kept a lot of the spirit of the originals, this 'Famous Five: Message in a Bottle' is a very different mystery.The characters are all present and they all go of on an adventure together, but the style of book is different. The originals were never that complex but feel wordy for a modern reader. This book is a short story version for a starter reader. Each page may have a sentence or two and key phrases are highlighted to encourage understanding the important part of a sentence.Moor's illustrations are very different, colourful and more cartoon like. They have more of an appeal to a modern reader, but old fans will miss the black and white pictures. The book is aimed at 6-8 year old of today and it works well for them and that is the important thing.

Meet the famous five which includes the best member - Timmy! As the friends enjoy a day in the park thr adventure begins. Who is the bottle from and what challenge does the message present? All friends look for the doll and enjoy adventures along the way. This is a perfect book for a 7 year old to enjoy as it's not too long and it's nice and colourful.