Would this be appropriate?

Dear Havemercy I have 4 grandsons and must admit I have built them each a library of books and they love being read too, the eldest 2, both 6 will now read to younger brothers, 4 and 2. I have bought books from The Works and Waterstones and from being young they were able to choose. Stories should inspire them to use their imaginations. Last christmas instead of buying advent calendars I bought 24 books for each of them, individually them and put numbers on. It was the best thing i have ever done as they all loved having a new book every day, all age appropriate. It took time to do, but I've been asked to do again by each of them, even parents enjoyed.

Interesting about fairy stories. I have my old Hansel and Gretel, with illustrations, and was terrified by them. My mother had Perrault’s Fairy Tales on a high bookshelf, I climbed on a chair and reached it, read Bluebeard....aaarghh! Never forgot those, or Jack and the Beanstalk, where the Ogre killed his daughters. I think these stories have more of an effect than we think!

Why not visit the library and borrow books, I used to love being able to borrow different books when I was little, still do

EB books are period pieces. If it is explained to the child that things were different "in Granny's time", what's the problem? The stories are great.
By the way, I know a reluctant reader aged 11 whose school has given him some Famous Five books.
And what about Thomas the Tank Engine? Another period piece but I haven't come across a 5-year-old boy who didn't love him.

Enid Blyton is a product of its time. There are issues with children being hit, gender roles, middle class suburban life that will need so much explaining . As a result explanations of these things will be long and tedious. Don’t go there it’s not relevant apart from an example of how people used to think years ago.
It was banned in my local library 50 years ago because of the above and even more problems with Noddy!

Iif they are banning Enid Blyton presumably parents are banning most fairy stories, such as Red Riding Hood etc ? And it seems like a double standard to allow Roald Dahl, considering the content of his books!
Before you know it you will be banning half of children's literature.

As some posts have said, explaining that these are stories, so not real, is all that is needed. The explanation about how methods of bringing up children have now changed, can come later; after all, if you are going to have that discussion in all honesty you would have to say that physical punishment of children ( and adults) still happens in some cultures.
Presumably you will allow schools to teach history to your children, much of which includes far more brutality and devastating violence? Part of growing up is to learn gradually that attitudes, customs, opinions change over time - and not always for the best.

Aside from that, if you're unsure what books to buy for children there's a good website where you can find synopses and reviews of books and a guide to age suitability.
It's www.lovereading4kids.co.uk
Note the number 4 instead of 'for'. Amazon is also useful if you know what book you want to find out about, as they include reviews.
Please please please encourage reading - so many children only encounter ipads and tablets these days, even in school too.

I don't think the thought of other children in a story getting a spanking will bother modern five year olds. EB wrote some lovely stories and it would be sad to ignore them all together. If they ask just explain that it was more common to spank children in those days. It's likely they have friends who are spanked or smacked anyway. Although it's a different age group to your GC, when reading Swallows and Amazons I had to explain that Tittie was a girl's name at that time and not a slang word for breast. After the initial shock and sniggers they just accepted it and thought nothing more about it.

I liked some Enid Blyton, particularly the Famous Five. I liked the Faraway Tree and my daughter loved it. I hadn’t thought about the issue of spanking nowadays. I think there is probably racism too. It is a very modern thing now to feel children need protecting from everything. It seems strange to people of our generation. I was thinking about playing in the river and no-one worrying about safety. What a loss it would have been if I could only have gone there with adults. It seems there must be cultural protection as well. I would check with the parents. Are children still read to from Grimm? Much more disturbing I would think. Also the bible is pretty disturbing. And they will be on the internet soon enough. I think

You know what, a child reading, or being read to, is such a great thing it’s almost irrelevant what the story is. I still love reading, I read all the famous five and Mallory Towers stories when little (a long time ago), Just William, Swallows and Amazons, Heidi, 5 children & It, The Secret Garden, Black Beauty.... I loved them all ! A great mix of reading books is always good, if you’re not sure check with parents first

I am in my 60s and I was never physically punished by my parents nor did I ever hit my own children, but I knew it happened. We all know it still happens behind closed doors today and to pretend it doesn’t is an injustice to all the children who suffer at the hands of abusive adults!

I read everything I could lay hands on, including EB. And I was smacked, which did me no real harm. I was given some morality tales (I seem to remember a book by "Uncle Mac" where bad children got their come-uppance). My parents disapproved but the donor pointed out that children like books like that because all the children have their just desserts and certainly I felt the rewards or punishments were fair.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Oddly enough, as I was reading through this thread. This email landed in my inbox!

The Roald Dahl stories are wonderful, the enormous crocodile and George’s Marvellous medicine. Wind and the willows, Winnie the Pooh, Paddington bear, swallows and amazons, some books don’t age and are still seem fresh today.
I agree that Enid Blyton books are horrid and a bore to read as a parent. Many other wonderful classics to chose from.

I think they are a really funny adult read. I loved them as a child and the first book I read in red hardback hardly any illustrations was her Happy Story Book when I was five . To be honest elves got punished with blue ink if they stole cakes and every story had a moral and I learnt early to structure stories this way and I devoured the Secret Seven books. I picked up one from Oxfam recently 'Sleepy time stories' and it was a hoot. It starts off with mother saying that her and daddy were going off on holiday but child couldn't go because she had not been good she had to stay with frightful Aunt Sue. Can you imagine daring to say that! I never read them to my children stuck to AA Milne and Beatrix Potter and Dr Suess there was enough subversion and wit in them. But i have such a soft spot for her. My grandchildren love David Walliams....If I had my grandchildren to stay and more time with them I'm sure we'd enjoy some of them .

Enid Blyton her books are still in print after all these years, and punishers know what they are doing, so read them to your grandchildren, and enjoy!!

Agreed

How about Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne - beautifully illustrated by EH Shephard - don't get the Disney version! The original books are classics and full of gentle humour. There are stories and poems - The House at Pooh Corner springs to mind and I think one is just called Winnie the Pooh. The poems may be in When we were Very Young and Now we are Six.

Why not save it a bit till hes a bit older,maybe 9yrs? And still explain to him about how things were done differently then.

spend their childhood never reading anything else.
I totally agree with this they are all I read when I was a child and they put me off reading anything else. Becaue I found them so easy I wouldn't read anything else. And I missed out on reading some very good children's literature. It wasn't until I was an adult that I rediscovered a love of reading through Jane Austen. When I reread some Blyton as an adult I realised how badly written they were. I much prefer Roald Dahl or J K Rowling

Reading to a child can't be improved on , and you can always adapt as you read. The text isn't the best but Enid Blyton has that page-turning quality that makes you want to finish the story.
It is what the parents think that matters, not My Friend.

I loved Enid Blyton in the dim and distant past but when I read a Famous Five book (bought by son) to my grandson I could see that the vocabulary is pretty limited. However GS has now read all the Famous Five series and loved them. I really don’t think children will be damaged by reading Enid Blyton provided they are given access to better literature as well. The important thing is to develop a love of reading.

I wouldn't read Enid Blyton to my grandchildren and I didn't read her to my children either Becaue her books were even dated then 30 plus years ago. Also as much as I enjoyed them when I was a child it was Becaue its all I had looking at them now I don't think they are at all well written. There are much better books available now that I think your grandchildren will enjoy more.

I would not give my grandson Enid Blyton for a range of reasons. I loved the stories as a child but they haven't stood the test of time.

The OP’s grandchild is 5. A lot of the recommendations here are more for pre-school children, surely? I’m never sure what my eldest grandsons will like now at 7, 6 and 4, so pick up a few books at charity shops when I see them. The Wimpy Kid, that multi-storey treehouse series, Horrible Histories, Roald Dahl, David Williams, Horrid Henry for the youngest. They all like factual stuff as well - football, pirates, kings and battles, how sewers work. I dislike a lot of the above, but they like them, which is what matters!

I’ve tried offering the updated Enid Blytons and they’ve been met with a total lack of enthusiasm. I’m quite sad about that, as I used to love The Faraway Tree, The Wishing Chair and the school series, and so did my children.