This month we are celebrating the work of Enid Blyton.
Key Facts
Enid Blyton was born in England on 11th August 1897. She is a very famous and popular children’s writer, who has sold in excess of 600 million copies of her books. Her books remain enormously popular to this day and have been translated into multiple languages.
Her most famous books are the Famous Five and Secret Seven series, as well as Noddy and Malory Towers.
Activity Ideas
Use the ideas below to involve your residents in discussing and celebrating Enid Blyton.
- Take out some books from the library (request large print, standard print and audio, if possible). Some residents will enjoy looking through the books on their own or with relatives. Others would enjoy listening to the books being read aloud, either by audiobook or by yourself or a colleague.
- Hold a reminiscence session, using Enid Blyton books as prompts. Which books do your residents recall reading as children? Where did they read them? Can they remember any other books that they enjoyed?
- Invite a small group of local primary school children in to your home for a reading session.
- Explore places that the books were based on. Kirrin Island (from her Famous Five books) was based on Corfe Castle in Dorset, for example. Has anyone been there?
- Make bookmarks and decoupage photo frames with pages out of old books.
- Plan an Enid Blyton-themed picnic with lashings of ginger beer!
- Make some fairy doors to put in the garden, inspired by The Magic Faraway Tree. Paint scraps of old wood that have been cut into door shapes and stick on buttons or jewels to decorate.
- Make toadstools out of air-dry clay. Assist residents in painting these, then give them out as small gifts, or use them to decorate window boxes.
