Enid Blyton’s books are beloved the world over and The Famous Five have been the perennial favourite of her fans. Now, in this new series of Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, George, Dick, Anne, Julian and Timmy confront possibly their toughest challenge yet, parenthood.
Bringing up a baby would surely be child’s play for The Five. How hard could parenting possibly be? When the doorbell rings one Saturday afternoon, the last thing the Five were expecting to find on their doorstep was a baby… But the Five are next of kin to cousin Rupert and his wife, so when these relatives land themselves in a spot of bother and enjoy a short spell behind bars, Anne, Dick, George, Julian and Timmy the dog are naturally their first port of call.
At first, the fear and the tiredness kicks in. The Five are terrified at being responsible for this new life and have no idea whether they’re doing it right. They use Dr Google constantly, who, whatever the situation offers the same range of advice from ‘don’t worry about it’ to ‘rush her to A&E’. ‘Why is she crying?’ they constantly ask. ‘Why?’ Little Lily Kirrin keeps them up all night every night, until they are reduced to walking ghosts, haunted by a numb and impotent fury. Is this an adventure too far for our Five?