What do you think?

[jim3692]

[SIZE=12pt]A Discussion Topic[/SIZE]

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[SIZE=12pt]Some time ago I read in the newspapers that the the childrens’ classic The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton is to be rewritten.

“Hachette Children’s Group has scooped a brand new Magic Faraway Tree adventure, inspired by Enid Blyton and written by Jacqueline Wilson. It will be the first Magic Faraway Tree book in 75 years and the first in the series by an author other than Blyton.
Alexandra Antscherl, editorial director at Enid Blyton Entertainment & Fiction Brands, bought world rights from Caroline Walsh at David Higham Associates. It will publish on 26th May 2022 in a hardback package, illustrated throughout by Mark Beech, plus e-book and audio editions.
The publisher said: "The Magic Faraway Tree: A New Adventure revisits the original magical world inhabited by Moonface and Silky, while introducing three new children and some fabulous new lands, all guaranteed to appeal to Jacqueline Wilson and Enid Blyton fans the world over.
"Milo, Mia and Birdy are on a countryside holiday when they are astonished to discover an Enchanted Wood. Exploring there they meet remarkable creatures, including a man with a head like the moon and a fairy with long, silky hair, who live in the tallest tree in the wood. Little Birdy is thrilled 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 and the Land of Dragons."

This sounded like an excellent idea – until I read……..

A beloved novel by Enid Blyton has been rewritten by Jacqueline Wilson to airbrush alleged sexist elements.
The Magic Faraway Tree has been tweaked by the Tracy Beaker author to make it supposedly fit for the 21st century.
The adventure book will still see siblings Milo, Mia and Birdy head to the enchanted wood and meet Moon-Face, Silky the Fairy and the Saucepan Man.
But comments from the magical creatures mentioning girls helping with domestic chores will see them educated on gender equality.
The move has been slammed by free speech campaigners who say classics should not be rewritten to make them more 'politically correct'.
Blyton's work has been repeatedly targeted over what are sometimes now seen as her old-fashioned views on gender roles and race.
Last month Oxford University Press faced a backlash for urging parents to read their children 'woke' modern books rather than the classics.

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[SIZE=12pt]I wondered what thoughts our members had on this - a kind of political correctness or a much needed revision.?

I admit that I don’t like the idea the original Faraway Tree is a classic and much loved book and as such should be left as we remember it – but that is my opinion.

I have added the series to our library - it is here https://merlinwz.com/topic/1805603-enid-blyton-the-faraway-tree-childrens-fiction/

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[SIZE=12pt]I hope that it continues to give pleasure to children (and even to us so called grownups ) [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]What do you think?[/SIZE]

 

[dvernb]

Firstly, I have to admit I have never heard of the book before now, let alone read it!

That said, I understand what you're saying in your comments. I've also seen it in many other literary works.

I think it is political correctness run amok! What is the norm today is not what was the norm when these pieces were written. They want to revise history!

A perfect example is the efforts by some to bastardize the works of Mark Twain. To appreciate the times when the stories were written you need to read them as they were written!

Political correctness be damned!!

 

[Gethin]

I’ve never read anything by this author. I was unaware of these books until now. It saddens me to see another book on the Woke Bonfire. The fascists never sleep. Their two-minute hate sessions sets it’s sites on great works by Europeans again and again. Never on non-Christian or non-White history. Those behind this are the same people the Old Testament insists are God’s “chosen” ones. They are master propagandists and infiltrators. The Bolsheviks were “chosen” ones and destroyed one of the greatest Christian empires ever known. Fascism was the result. The Weimar era in Germany was of “chosen” design. Fascism was the result.  Wokeism is of “chosen” design. The result is predictable. When faced with utter destruction of our civilization we respond accordingly.

The true fascists are and always have been those who consider themselves “chosen”.

As long as we find a way to preserve our history and culture they cannot destroy us. I believe a great calamity is inevitable. Social structure will collapse. Enclaves will survive. We will set out to rebuild our civilization again. History repeating.

If what I’ve said offends anyone I apologize. Maybe they should consider why my observations offend them and look at their own Wokeness objectively.

 

[jim3692]

I think that we, all of us, play a part saving books as they were written and that is important. We are not the “culture police” there is little that I will not upload, even if I don’t agree with it exceptions are John Betancourt’s Thunderchild Publications and Wildside Press books, Because I promised not to, John got into publishing as a result of trying to save sf & f heritage. So I regard him as an ally and I always keep my word.

There is one other book I won’t upload anywhere (I won’t name it) but that is my choice too.

We should all be free to make that same free choice and not be told what we can and can’t read.

Most of what I won’t read is simply because I don’t understand the big words. [SIZE=11pt]

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But books are all good – ideas made tangible – how good is that? [SIZE=11pt]

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[SIZE=11pt]J[/SIZE]