Enid Blyton - Mason Willey's Collectors' and Enthusiasts' Guide to First Editions
Short stories

alice.gif

z13shortstories.gif

Enid Blyton was an extremely shrewd operator when it came to managing her career and business affairs. There were numerous books of short stories published over the years, and a great many of these were rehashes of material which had originally appeared in Sunny Stories Magazine and elsewhere. Still, we shall not criticise her for that. Many of the books listed below are very beautiful items in their own right, illustrated by some of the best artists around at the time.
 
NB: Categories listed below are Flowers/Colours/Times and Days etc./Moods/Chimney Corner. The remaining story books, not falling into distinct categories, are listed alphabetically by publisher. In most instances, the illustrator is shown. If no illustrator is given, then either the book was not illustrated, (unlikely), or I am not sure of the identity. If you have any information which is missing, I shall be very grateful to receive it.

blybib.gif

divider02.gif
transflower02.gif
Flowers
 
 
Published by Gifford, illustrated by various artists
 
 
Enid Blyton's Bluebell Story Book                      1949
Enid Blyton's Daffodil Story Book                      1949
Enid Blyton's Poppy Story Book                         1950
Enid Blyton's Buttercup Story Book                     1951
Enid Blyton's Snowdrop Story Book                      1952
Enid Blyton's Marigold Story Book                      1954
Enid Blyton's Foxglove Story Book                      1955
Enid Blyton's Water Lily Story Book                       ?
 

marigoldstorybook1.jpg
A colourful Hilda Boswell dustwrapper

foxglovestorybook.jpg
The beautiful picture board of The Foxglove Story Book from 1955

divider02.gif

transrainbow01.gif

Colours
 
Published by Methuen
 
The Blue Story Book (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)          1945
The Red Story Book (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)           1946
The Green Story Book (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)         1947
The Yellow Story Book (ill. by Kathleen Gell)          1950
 
divider02.gif

clock.gif

Times and Days etc.
 
Published by Methuen
 
Five-Minute Tales  (not. ill.)                         1933
Ten-Minute Tales  (not ill.)                           1934
Fifteen-Minute Tales  (not ill.)                       1936
Twenty-Minute Tales  (not ill.)                        1940
The logical reason why these four books were not illustrated would seem to be that they were intended to be read to children and not by them.
 
Five O'Clock Tales (ill. by Dorothy M. Wheeler)        1941
Six O'Clock Tales (ill. by Dorothy M. Wheeler          1942
Seven O'Clock Tales (ill. by Dorothy M. Wheeler)       1943
Eight O'Clock Tales (ill. by Dorothy M. Wheeler)       1944
 
Published by Laurie
 
Tales After Tea (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)              1948
Tales After Supper (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)           1949
 
Published by Oliphants
 
Stories for Monday                                     1962
Stories for Tuesday                                    1962
(The series was never completed)
 
divider02.gif

swing_set_playground_stacy_smile_md_clr_12992.gif

 
Moods (all illustrated by Eileen A. Soper)
 
 
Published by Hodder and Stoughton
 
Enid Blyton's Happy Story Book                         1942
Enid Blyton's Merry Story Book                         1943
Enid Blyton's Jolly Story Book                         1944
Enid Blyton's Sunny Story Book                         1945
Enid Blyton's Gay Story Book                           1946
Enid Blyton's Lucky Story Book                         1947
 

luckystorybook.gif
The Eileen A. Soper dustwrapper for Enid Blyton's Lucky Story Book

Published by Brockhampton
 
Enid Blyton's Bright Story Book                        1952
Enid Blyton's Friendly Story Book                      1954
 

divider02.gif

transmushroomhouse01.gif
Chimney Corner  (illustrated by Pat Harrison)
 
Chimney Corner Stories (pub. by National Magazine Co.) 1946
More Chimney Corner Stories (pub. by Macdonald)        1955

divider02.gif

icecicles_sm_clr.gif

Alphabetical by publisher 
 
Blackwell
 
Mister Icy-Cold                                        1948

puppy_digging_a_hole_md_clr.gif

Brockhampton
 
John and Mary series ill. by Fromont 1966-1968
 
The Dog That Would Go Digging
The Great Big Fish
The Kitten That Disappeared
The Little Brown Bear
The Three Sailors
How John Got His Ducklings
Tim Gets a Chance
Granny's Lovely Necklace
The Wheel That Ran Away

monkey_hit_on_head_by_coconut_md_clr.gif

Brockhampton others
 
Polly Piglet (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)               1943
The Toys Come To Life (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)      1943
The Dog That Went To Fairyland (ill. by E. A. Soper) 1944 
Jolly Little Jumbo (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)         1944
The Runaway Kitten (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)         1945
The Teddy Bear's Party (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)     1945
The Bad Little Monkey (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)        1946
The Surprising Caravan (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)       1946
The Train That Lost Its Way (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)  1946
The Little Green Duck and other stories                1947
The Very Clever Rabbit and other stories               1947
The Red-spotted Handkerchief and other stories
     (ill. by Kathleen Gell)                           1948
They Ran Away Together (ill. by Jeanne Farrar)         1948
The Dear Old Snow Man                                  1949
Jinky's Joke and other stories (ill. by Kathleen Gell) 1949
Oh, What a Lovely Time                                 1949
Tales About Toys (ill. by Jeanne Farrar)               1950
What an Adventure                                      1950
The Proud Golliwog (ill. by Molly Brett)               1951
The Mad Teapot (ill. by Molly Brett)                   1952
Visitors in the Night (ill. by Molly Brett)            1953
What a Surprise (ill. by Molly Brett)                  1954
The Golliwog Grumbled (ill. by Molly Brett)            1955
 
Collins
 
Bimbo and Blackie Go Camping (ill. by Pierre probst)   1955
Bobs (ill. by Pierre Probst)                           1955
Mischief Again (photo's by Paul Kaye)                  1955
See The Laughing Kitten (Harvill, below)
 
donkey_kicking_bucking_md_clr.gif
Neddy the Little Donkey (ill. by Romain Simon)     1955
Animal Tales (ill. by Romain Simon)                1956
The Clever Little Donkey (ill. by Romain Simon)    1956
Colin the Cow-boy (ill. by R. Caille)              1956
Tales at Bedtime (ill. by Hilda McGavin)           1960
 
Dog Stories*                                           1959
Adventure Stories**                                    1960
Mystery Stories***                                     1960
These last three books were in fact, reprints of the stories originally published under the nom-de-plume Mary Pollock. It might be argued that they are not short stories, strictly speaking, but I have included them here because of the word "stories" in the title:-
  *Three Boys and a Circus and The Adventures of Scamp
 **Mischief at St. Rollo's and Children of Kidillin
***The Secret of Cliff Castle and Smuggler Ben

chariot_run_md_clr_16605.gif

Evans
 
The Adventures of Odysseus*                1934
The Story of the Siege of Troy*            1934
Tales of the Ancient Greeks and Persians*  1934
Tales of the Romans*                       1934
Bed-time Stories (ill. by Alfred Kerr)     1942
Happy Stories (ill. by Alfred Kerr)        1942
Ho-Ho and Too Smart (ill. by Alfred Kerr)  1942
Jolly Tales (ill. by Alfred Kerr)          1942
Tales of the Toys (ill. by Alfred Kerr)    1942
Rainy Day Stories (ill. by Nora S. Unwin)  1944
Happy Day Stories
     (ill. by Marcia Lane Foster)          1960
*Part of Stories from World History Retold series
 
Harvill
 
The Laughing Kitten (photo's by Paul Kaye)             1955
Mischief Again (see Collins above), is a sequel to this book.
 
Harold Hill
 
Now For a Story (ill. by Frank Varty)                  1948
 
Hodder and Stoughton
 
A Story Party at Green Hedges (ill. by Grace Lodge)    1949
A Picnic Party With Enid Blyton (ill. by Grace Lodge)  1951

violin03a.gif

Instructive Arts
 
Will the Fiddler (ill. by Grace Lodge)           1960
 

steaming_teapot_md_clr_27477.gif
W. and A. K. Johnston
 
The Talking Teapot and other tales  1934
Hop, Skip and Jump                  1934
The Strange Tale of Mister Wumble   1934
The Little Button Elves             1934
The Adventures of Bobs              1935
Round the Year Stories              1937
A Book of Magic                                        1937
The Two sillies and other stories retold               1937
The Watchman With a Hundred Eyes                       1937
Children of Other Lands                                1937
Tales of Old Thatch                                    1938
Children of Other Days                                 1939
King Arthur and His Knights                            1939
All About the Circus                                   1939
Jolly Tales                                            1948
Hiawatha                                               1955
Robin Hood                                             1955
Aesop's Fables                                         1960
Gulliver's Adventures                                  1960
 
Latimer House
 
The Enid Blyton Circus Book (ill. by R. Webster)       1949
Benjy and the Others (ill. by Kathleen Gell)           1955
 
Littlebury
 
Tiny Tales                                             1949
 
Lutterworth
 
Snowball the Pony (ill. by Iris Gillespie)             1953
The Birthday Kitten (ill. by Grace Lodge)              1958
The Adventures of Bobs (ill. by Lilian Chivers)        1955
Run-About's Holiday (ill. by Lilian Chivers)           1955
 
Macmillan
 
I'll Tell You a Story (ill. by Eileen A. A. Soper)     1942
I'll Tell You Another Story (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)  1942
The Conjuring Wizard and other stories
     (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)                         1945
The Little White Duck and other stories
     (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)                         1946
Just Time for a Story (ill. by Grace Lodge)            1948
The Astonishing Ladder and other stories
     (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)                         1950
The Magic Knitting Needles and other stories
     (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)                         1950
The Three Naughty Children and other stories
     (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)                         1950
Rubbalong Tales (ill. by Norman Meredith)              1950
Tricky the Goblin and other stories
     (ill. by Eileen A. Soper)                         1950
 
Methuen
 
A Book of Naughty Children  (Ill. by Kathleen Gell)    1944
A Second Book of Naughty Children
   (Ill. by Kathleen Gell)                             1947
Hedgerow Tales (ill. by Vere Temple)                   1935
Also issued in a cheaper three-part edition.
 
Billy-Bob Tales (ill. by May Smith)                    1938
Tales of Betsy-May (ill. by Joan Gale Thomas)          1940
 
The Babar Story Book                                   1941
Second half reprinted in 1942 as Tales of Babar.
 
A Book of Naughty Children (Ill. by Kathleen Gell)     1944
A Second Book of Naughty Children
      (Ill. by Kathleen Gell)                          1947
 
Muller
 
The Famous Jimmy (ill. by Benjamin Rabier)             1936
 
National Magazine Co.
 
Round the Clock Stories (ill. by Nora S. Unwin)        1945
Tales of Green Hedges (ill. by Gwen White)             1946
 
Nelson
 
Tales Half Told                                        1926
Let's Pretend (ill. by I. Bennington Angrave)          1928
Pinkity's Pranks and other nature fairy stories: retold1928
Aesop's Fables: retold                                 1928
Old English Stories: retold                            1928
 
Tarrydiddle Town                                       1929
 
gnome_mushroom_smoking_pipe_md_clr.gif
Newnes
 
The Enid Blyton Book of Fairies
     (ill. by Horace J. Knowles)                   1924
The Enid Blyton Book of Bunnies
     (ill. by Katherine Nixon)                     1925
The Enid Blyton Book of Brownies
     (ill. by Ernest Aris                              1926
The Red Pixie Book                                     1934
The Green Goblin Book (ill by Gordon Robinson)         1935
The Yellow Fairy Book                                  1936
The Adventures of Binkle and Flip
     (ill. by Katherine Nixon)                         1938
The Knights of the Round Table*                        1930
Tales From the Arabian Nights *                        1930
Tales of Ancient Greece*                               1930
Tales of Robin Hood*                                   1930
Bimbo and Topsy (ill. by Lucy Gee)                     1943
Dame Slap and Her School (ill. by Dorothy M. Wheeler** 1943
Tales of Toyland (ill. by Hilda McGavin)               1944
The Three Golliwogs                                    1944
Come to the Circus (ill. bu Joyce M. Johnson)          1948
Bumpy and His Bus (ill. by Dorothy M. Wheeler**        1949
 *Part of John O'London's Children's Library series
**Hardback strip books
 
 
clown_balancing_plates_md_clr.gif
Odhams
 
Let's Go to the Circus                             1951
 
Parrish
 
Story Book for Five to Sevens
     (ill. by Dorothy Hall and Gracs Shelton)      1964
 
Pitkin (Pleasure Book series)
 
Let's Have a Story (ill. by George Bowe)               1948
We Want a Story (ill. by George Bowe)                  1948
 
A Cat in Fairyland and other stories                   1949
The Enchanted Sea and other stories                    1949
The Strange Umbrella and other tories                  1949
Chuff the Chimney Sweep and other stories              1950
Benny and the Princess and other stories               1951
Boody the Great Goblin and other stories               1951
The Flying Goat and other stories                      1951
The Little Spinning House and other stories            1951
The Magic Snow-bird and other stories                  1951
Pippy the Gnome and other stories                      1951
The Runaway Teddy Bear and other stories               1951
Too-Wise the Wonderful Wizard and other stories        1951
The Castle Without a Door and other stories            1954
The Little Toy Farm and other stories                  1954
 
Sampson Low (Little Bedtime series 1951-58)
 
About Silly Sammy
About the Wizard Who Really Was a Nuisance
About Amanda Going Away
About the Balloon Pipe
About the Doll That Fell Out Of the Pram
About the Surprising Broom
About the Cloud Kitten
About the Golliwog and the Wireless
These Stories all appeared in The Fourth Holiday Book but with different titles.
 
Published privately
 
Letters from Bobs                                     1933
These were reprints of items originally appearing in Enid Blyton's Children's Page in Teachers' World magazine. They were sold directly from Green Hedges (E.B.'s home).
 
 
 
divider02.gif