You know that thing where certain things seemed different and nicer and more magical when you were a kid, and then when you view them through adult eyes, you sort of wonder what on earth it was all about? Well, I experienced that recently on re-reading the trilogy of Faraway Tree books by Enid Blyton.

I loved these books as a kid. I mean, you would, wouldn’t you? Climbing those big branches, curious treefolk, intriguing sweets, and an ever-changing magical land at the top of the tree… it all serves to inspire a child’s imagination.

And I still really enjoyed reading them, even as a big kid, but I couldn’t help notice that the lands that visit the top of the Faraway Tree are… well, for the most part… awful! I remember them being magic and fun and cotton candy and parties. What they actually are is quite different: wizards and rocking and punishments and giants and school.

As I was reading, I made a quick analysis of the lands, both ones that were visited and played a part in the story and those that were just mentioned:

Book 1 - The Enchanted Wood

• Roundabout Land - dizzy.
• Land of Ice and Snow - cold.
• The Land of the Old Saucepan Man - only there to get a new character, probably quite noisy.
• Rocking Land - seasick.
• The Land of Take What You Want - hooray, a good one!
• Country of Loneliness - lonely!
• Giantland - scary giants.
• Land of Lollipops - sounds okay!
• Country of Flop - mm, no.
• Land of Seagulls - god, no.
• Toyland/Land of Toys - two different lands with similar names, one good, one bad. How will you ever remember which is the right one to visit?
• Land of Surprises - depends on the kind of surprise, surely.
• Land of Santa Claus - better.
• Land of Squalls - bad weather?
• Land of the Red Goblins - sounds troublesome.
• Land of the Wizards - Harry Potter style, sure.
• Land of Birthdays - now you’re talking.

Book 2 - The Magic Faraway Tree

• The Land of Topsy Turvy - seasick.
• The Land of Spells - troublesome.
• The Land of Dreams - okay, maybe.
• Land of Do-As-You-Please - we’ve talked about this, if everyone does as they please then society is going to collapse.
• Land of Goodies - Better.
• Land of Toys - as per Book 1.
• Land of The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe - she wasn’t a nice woman.
• Land of Magic Medicines - useful if ill.
• Land of Tempers - good or bad?
• Land of Presents - better!

Book 3 - The Folk of the Faraway Tree

• Land of Punishments - obviously not.
• Land of Know-Alls - we have google now.
• Land of Marvels - yes, could be interesting.
• Land of Giants - second visit, still a no.
• Land of Nursery Rhymes - they’re always much darker than you think, though, aren’t they?
• Land of Goodies - second visit, still good!
• Land of Dame Snap - no, she’s mean.
• Land of Tea Parties - cake and sandwiches, yes.
• Land of Whizz About - seasick.
• Land of Secrets - nope.
• Land of Enchantments - depends what we mean by this, is it different to spells?
• Land of Medicines - in this book, we’ve dropped the magic so not sure if it’s the same land or not. Still useful if ill.

So to my mind, there are 38 magic lands mentioned in the trilogy and you could argue that only four or five of them are actually any fun, with maybe a few more that are not unpleasant to add on top. Outside of that, our heroic protagonists were constantly getting into trouble and finding themselves in difficult lands. The three kids themselves were often to be found saying they didn’t really want to go back up to the top of the tree because of how awful it was when they got there.

I don’t know what I’ve been remembering so fondly when the experiences in these books are so mixed. I do love reading them though, even though it’s clear the Enchanted Wood is a place to be avoided!