Friday 29 October 2010

Noddy: A Very Special Birthday

Noddy in Toyland - A Very Special Birthday

Allegedly written by Enid Blyton


Published by Harper Collins Children's Books



Oh dear. Charlotte spotted this book amongst the others at the library, and try as I  might to dissuade her from taking it out, we ended up with this book in our week's haul of six others. Those of you unfamiliar with Chorion's Noddy series on TV, pepped up and rebooted with shiny new CGI, might want to stop reading now and just cherish the memories of Enid Blyton's original books. Those who like the new stuff might also want to stop reading because something very odd seems to have happened with this book. Half of the characters in it are as you'd remember them from the TV series. The other half have been sweetened up, made less menacing (particularly in the case of the naughty goblins) and are completely unrecognisable. 

The throwaway story (about a robot's lack of birthday, and a mean trick played by the Goblins to try and spoil his birthday surprises for him) definitely wasn't written by Enid Blyton though her name certainly gets credited with it. 

Saccharin and ersatz. If you're lucky enough to spot any of the original books at car boot sales grab them instead. Even if your toddlers are fans of the Channel 5 / Chorion TV series, this isn't really worth bothering with. 

Charlotte's best bit: The robot (she still loves robots for some unknown reason)

Daddy's favourite bit: None

Rating: 1 out of 5