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What are the most Popular Kid’s Books ?
Getting your child introduced to the
right kind of books at the very beginning is one of the most
essential habits. Reading books helps in a variety of ways –
enhancing the child’s imagination, his or her vocabulary,
knowledge and of course developing the sheer habit of reading;
trust me no amount of internet or television can replace the joy
of pure and good reading. Personally I am an avid reader and
always favor reading as a past time. Surely, to make your little
one develop the passion for reading, you need to ensure that the
right kinds of books are provided.
Works of Enid Blyton
One of the most popular English children’s author is Enid Mary
Blyton (1897-1968). Her books are not only read in England but
all over the world with a sale of almost 400 million copies. The
beauty of Enid Blyton’s works remains in the fact that a lot of
her works are based on same characters at different points of
time so that they can target different age groups. A survey
conducted in 2006 showed that Enid Blyton’s works were ranked
fifth in the popularity chart and almost 3300 translations of
her books have been made. Her works have been translated in 90
languages including Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese,
Japanese, Hebrew, German, Finnish, Dutch, Swedish and Malay. Her
English works are widely read in Britain, India, Pakistan, New
Zealand and Australia. Some of the very popular Enid Blyton
books are:
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• The Noddy series – Who can forget
the adorable Noddy and his best pal Big Years? One of the most
popular children’s series is Noddy, who lives in the fantasy
world with his darling car and beautiful and loving neighbors.
• Famous Five – This series narrates the various adventures of
four young children and their dog. This was created by Blyton
during the period of 1942 to 1963 and consists of 21 adventures.
Another similar series is Secret Seven, the adventures of seven
children, was born around the same time (1949 – 1963). Both
these works are still hugely popular among the youngsters.
• The Adventure series
• The Magic Faraway Tree
• The Malory Towers
• The Barney Mystery series
• The Wishing Chair Adventures
• The Mary Mouse series
• The St. Clare series
• The Naughtiest Girl series
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The works of Enid Blyton kindle the
fantasy and imagination of young children. All the child
protagonists are usually independent and self sufficient with
much defined common sense. The adult characters used are
generally people with a lot of power and authority in the
society like parents, teachers and policemen or some villain who
can be punished by the children themselves at the end of the
story.
The subject matter of Enid Blyton’s
work can be broadly categorized into three sections
• Stories dealing with the unusual and extraordinary situations
of very ordinary children. The perfect example of this category
is the series of Famous Five and Secret Seven. The young
protagonists of these books face situations which are far away
from the ordinary, have adventures and solve mysteries.
• Stories dealing with the day to day activities of boarding
schools that include actions like playing pranks, midnight
feasts and social interaction of different kinds of characters.
Examples of this category include The Malory Tower series, St.
Clare’s series and the stories of the Naughtiest Girl.
• The third and final section is the subject dealing with the
world of fantasy and imagination. The characters in these books
interact with the fairies, elves, pixies and goblins. The most
popular examples of this category include the adventures of the
Wishing Chair and the adventures of the Magic Faraway Tree.
The adventures of Nancy Drew
Another extremely popular series is that of the various
adventures of Nancy Drew. Nancy is a lady detective and of
course a fictional character of this series. Nancy Drew books
are widely read by youngsters within the age group of nine to
twelve years. The popularity of this protagonist lies in the
fact that she represented the new age heroine – smart,
intelligent, and attractive- who can not only take care of
herself but also solve mysteries impeccably. In the words of
Mildred Wirt Benson, the widespread popularity of Nancy Drew
“….remains so, primarily because she personifies the dream image
which exists within most teenagers.”
The adventures of Harry Potter
This character, I am sure needs no introduction. Created by
J.K.Rowling, the fantasy stories of Harry Potter are an absolute
craze in the young minds of today. Since the first novel, Harry
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published in 1997, the books
have gained immense popularity all over the world.
Till date, a total of six books of Harry Potter have been
released and have already sold over 300 million copies and
translated in 63 different languages.
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The stories revolve around the
adventures in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and
Harry’s struggles against his eternal enemy, Lord Voldemort. The
subject also touches on the various themes of friendship, love,
ambition, courage, prejudice and beautifully balances them with
another dark and magical world that has its own complicated
history, unique culture and parallel societies.
The characters of Harry Potter
The hero, Harry – Born on
31st July 1980 to James and Lily Potter, Harry inherited some
distinct characteristics from his parents. His parents were
murdered by the darkest wizard, Lord Voldemort. Harry has a
lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead that makes him stand
out and instantly recognizable. After his parents’ death, he was
taken by the headmaster of the Hogwarts School, Professor
Dumbledore and handed over to his maternal aunt. |
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Albus
Dumbledore – Wizard professor Dumbledore is Harry’s most
trusted advisor and the principal of the Hogwarts School. He is a
highly respected man in the world of wizards with high portfolios in
national and international magical governments. He is also a very
successful alchemist who was offered the rank of the Minister of
Magic three times by the government. Most importantly, Dumbledore is
the only person whom Lord Voldemort feared and also one of the very
few wizards who could call him by his name.
Lord Voldemort – The most feared
wizard in the world of wizarding, Voldemort has achieved immense
power and immortality through the practice of Dark Arts. He is so
powerful that most of the people are scared to call him by his name
and refer to him as ‘You-Know-Who’ or ‘He Who Must Not Be Named’ or
‘The Dark Lord’. Voldemort is also called Tom Marvolo Riddle, the
name that can be rearranged to spell ‘I am Lord Voldemort’.
Ron Weasley – Ron or Ronald
Weasley is Harry’s best friend. The duo had met for the first time
during their journey on Hogwarts Express. Ron is Harry’s closest
companion and accompanies him in all his trials and adventures.
Hermione Granger – Smart,
studious, clever and a voracious reader, Hermione is also a close
associate of both Harry and Ron. She is the top student in Hogwarts
whose favorite pastime is to sit and read in the school library.
Though a wizard herself, Hermione has ordinary (or muggle) parents
who are dentists with no history of magic. She is intelligent with
loads of logic and reason and this makes her very valuable to all
the adventures undertaken by the hero.
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Article Contributed By: Sukanya
Banerjee
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