Child's play: Children's fiction should be good, not just fancy

It is heartening that Enid Blyton, whose characters have populated the world of English-reading Indian children for decades, is finally enjoying a revival of sorts in Britain with new editions, exhibitions and blogsites. It is easy to find fault with her simplistic storylines and stereotypes, but the relentless sales of her 800-odd books — 600 million and counting — testify to an enduring connect with her primary audience: children.

That there is even fan fiction such as The Famous Five go to Hogwarts underlines the timelessness of her famous characters. It also helps, of course, that there is a warm rush of affection for all things “retro” at the moment. It is tough to write for children as they want a good story above all and are not swayed by mere fancy writing — a very adult weakness often exploited by writers.

Call it a throwback to grandmothers’ traditional allegorical stories or the oral telling of epics, linear narrative in simple prose has a lasting appeal even if set in an antediluvian, pre-video game and smartphone age.

In increasingly uncertain times, Blyton’s entirely explainable, if imaginary, world has a comforting quality that even arbiters of political correctness have to acknowledge. And her books are certainly more grounded than some of the ghoulish or frothy literature that currently crowds children’s bookshelves.