Camilla Warren (0702442)Claire Udall (0704322)

Alice Perigoe (0701794)

Object Study – Brownie Tales

Would you use this book?If so, how?

“Hop, Skip and Jump were just finishing their breakfast one morning when they heard the postman rat-tatting on all the knockers down the street.”

Identification

Brownie : TalesDescription

• Width 12cm, length 19cm, depth 2.5cm• Hardback cover – termed ‘board book ‘• Soft grain, traditional style font used throughout• Paper pages• 12 Chapters• Printed by W M Collins & Sons (London & Glasgow)

in 1969• Cost 10 shillings = 50p• No information on the author • Contents page, illustrations page - only 4

illustrations in whole book• Back cover has no blurb– lists other stories in Junior

series

Brownie Tales : Inside the front cover

Inside the front cover - handwritten name and address, an old family telephone number containing just 4 numbers, which stirs memories of the past.

Brownie Tales : IllustrationsThe illustrations are simple pen and ink drawings

and are reminders of a time when ipods, computer andmobile phones did not exist. Only 4 illustrations exist in the

entire book. A wizard appears on the spine of the book inside a bottle, indicating that he has either been trapped or

captured. One feels reassured that he is inside the bottle with the cork fixed tightly!

Smell, feel, touch• The smell of the book, tells you it has had a

long past, one which cannot be replicated and which can only be achieved through the passage of time.

• It is smooth to touch, giving a warm and appealing character to the book.

Retro Aspects

• Font style of the title and the well recognised signature of the author – Enid Blyton – is prominent.

• Pleasing, retro style, which has become a fashionable look, inspiring designer shops such as Cath Kidston.

History – Environment/context

Personal History

•In my possession since I was 7 years old.•My first reading book.•Evokes memories and emotions of times past.•Book held in very high regard and cherished.

‘Objects are always targets for feeling and actions. Their interpretation is embedded in already existing experience and knowledge.’ Hooper-Greenhill (2000, p104)

Personal Reminders• If an object has a personal history, one is

naturally drawn to its past. • ‘We are often drawn to exhibits or objects

containing diaries and personal letters because they connect us with another’s feelings’ (Csikszentmihalyi and Hermanson, 1993, p155).

Later Years• The book was used a resource for reading to my own

children. • ‘Children’s experiences in early years shape their

future social communication and learning skills – book reading is a way to have regular additional talking time’ (Goodwin, 2008, p13).

• ‘Objects have the ability to carry the past physically into the present’(McAlpine & Giangrande, 1998, p37).

What of the book now?Micro context

• The book still has a place in the home, on display, alongside collections of other childhood memories.

• Polysemic – multiple meanings. ‘Collections not only project an image of the collector,

but illustrate how they see the world – collecting implies passion and a feeling for the object itself – objects have the ability to carry the past physically into the present.’

(McAlpine & Giangrande, 1998, pp.27-37)

Macro context- has it changed?

Then Now

• Found in libraries and bookshops• Books often found in children’s rooms• Books read in schools

•Books sold in second-hand and antiques shops• Found on adults’ bookcases, or in boxes with childhood relics

How does it compare with others?• Enid Blyton wrote numerous

children’s books in her time, following simple formats in ‘a safe old-fashioned world’ (Hall & Coles, 1999, p51).

• Brownie Tales was last reprinted in 1992, almost 20 years ago, with little change from the 1926 1st edition.

• However, the Magic Faraway Tree and the Secret Seven books, along with many others have been brought up to the 21st century...

• Published in 1943• Names of characters: Jo, Bessie and Fannie, Cousin Dick.• Front cover: hard back depicting children dressed in

the fashion of the time.• No blurb• Audience of young children

• Published in 2007• Names of characters: Joe, Beth and Frannie, Cousin

Rick.• Front cover: Paperback with modernised artwork and graphics• Audience of young children• Updates: Dame Slap is now Dame Snap. Instead of

using corporal punishment, she yells very loudly. • The term ‘queer’ has been replaced.

Significance

Why do we need books?• Stories we read and hear help us make sense of our own lives

and language is at the root of human communication (Goodwin, 2008, p13).

• Kean and Kirsch (2009, p187) comment, traces of personal pasts are so commonplace but such small things can also be those that surprise and become keys to larger issues.

• Seuling (2004) state children’s books are a relatively new feature, the Puritan and Victorians were very concerned with the safety of books.

Aesthetic Value• Word ‘aesthetic’ derived from Greek

word meaning ‘through the senses’ suggesting a closeness between sensation and feeling (Pateman, 1991, p7).

• Pleasing aspect, soft muted colours on the front cover.

• Front picture depicts a homely kitchen with the three main characters of the book, Hop, Skip and Jump confronting a grumpy wizard.

‘To touch an object is to have a perceptual experience’ (Pateman, 1991, p8)

‘Through aesthetic intelligence, we are able to apprehend a realm of meaning and value

essential to any human existence’ (Pateman, 1991, p8)

The cultural significance of Enid Blyton•Blyton tried to portray a seemingly idealistic family life. The majority of children who starred in her books were middle class and attended boarding schools. They befriended children from other backgrounds but they were always in awe of them (BBC, 2002).•This begs the question; are these characters representative of the wider population today? •Nowadays teachers think children have heroes from backgrounds they can relate to (BBC, 2002).•Nonetheless, Millard (1994), claimed that her stories are still one of the most popular in children’s fiction. Hall and Cole (1999, p52) state her readers enjoy the security of a domestic world, where the adults are conventional, predictable and in charge, but not often present.

Significance on an individual level• The book will always be part of my life.• Hugh sentimental value. • The book was read to my daughters and with each

sentence, I was instantly transported back in time, and was once again, their age.

• An age of innocence and emotional security. • Different perception for others.• No attachment to book.

Emotional significance on a collective level

• Formanek (1994) conducted research about the motivations of collectors. Some main themes emerged, one of which being “Collecting as preservation...” (p333).

• Blyton’s books represent days-gone-by, a different era. Preserving them, means preserving a memory. Some people collect cultural items for feelings of nostalgia (Danet & Katriel, 1994, p234).

• Most of the reviews found online are from older readers, remembering reading Brownie Tales when they were young and wanting to read it to their children.

Brownie Tales: Social Function

• Enid’s books were written for young children to provide entertainment but also to demonstrate her positive, Christian values and show ‘clear moral codes of conduct and behaviour’ (Hall & Coles, 1999, p51).

• Her books also allowed children to safely explore and have adventures in an adult-free world where the children were independent (Hall & Coles, 1999).

• Dixon (1977) points out that all her work conforms to the middle-class attitudes and language of the time.

• The social function of her books have now changed however, as they are now provide adults with a sense of nostalgia. Before, many adults condemned the books, perhaps as few adults featured in these child-centred fantasy worlds (Hall & Coles, 1999).

• They also may be considered less middle-class, and more socially unacceptable (though not all people think this way.)

Enid Blyton : Her story

• ‘I’m not out only to tell stories, much as I love this – I am out to inoculate decent thinking, loyalty, honesty, kindliness and all the things that children should be taught.’ (Blyton, 1952)

The political significance of Enid Blyton• Blyton represented an age of innocence and was seen as a possible

answer to such deterioration (Van der Walt, Fairer-Wessels & Inggs, 2004, p113).

• Blyton was one of the most prolific writers of children's literature but she has been criticized on the grounds of sexism, racism and linguistic impoverishment (Malmkjaer, Milton & Smith, 2000).

• However, could it be argued that writings today are morally acceptable?

• The question of whether Blyton merely reflected the racism of her time in her writing or if she created them is uncertain (Coetzee, 2003).

How do you interpret Enid Blyton’s work?

Interpretation

Multiple meanings of objects•By the end of the school age years, children have acquired what has been called an interpretive or constructive theory of mind (Carpendale and Chandler, 1996) .

•Children can then recognise that any object can have multiple meanings and human beings actively construct meanings based on prior as well as current experiences’ (Paris, 2002).

•A museum object can encourage a more important approach which extends the attention to the appearance of the object and then the possible meanings and expression of those meanings (Maroevic, Edson, 1998, p159).

•Chambers (1985, p45) argues that the objections to Enid Blyton are of sexism, racism, or class based attitudes, his alternative meaning of her narrative is that of a polite maiden aunt telling a story over cocoa.

Interpretation• Does Enid Blyton represent today’s British culture and identity?• Is she seen as being old fashioned and out of date or essential escapism

from the 21st century?• Does the interpretation change depending on what your perspective is?

“I knew I ought to be a children’s writer more than anything else.....All thetime I wanted to write and that was the only thing I was any good at in my school work” (Enid Blyton, BBC Woman’s Hour, 1963).

“Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy went straight-away to have buns and ginger-beer at the station tea-room.”

”Look here Timmy old thing, that’s twice you’ve upset my ginger-beer!”

One way of looking at Blyton’s books...

• Unfortunately, Brownie Tales was not put into a television format, however Noddy became a popular series.

• Here is a short clip from an episode of Noddy. It shows one of her stories in an innocent fashion, purely for young children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MfR2yZOJF0

And another way...• This is a clip from a spoof of the Famous Five; Five go

mad in Dorset, made in 1982. • It over-emphasises how Enid’s books may now be

interpreted as outdated and politically incorrect, from an adult’s perspective.

So how do you view the object now?

• Would you consider using this object as an educational resource?

• In what context?• Does it give a nostalgic view of

childhood?• Is this book relevant in today’s

society?

Bibliography

• BBC (2002) http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A779781 (07.03.10) • Carpendale J.I.M, Chandler M.J. (1996) On the distinction between false belief

understanding and subscribing to an interpretive piece of mind, Child Development, 67, 1686-1706

• Chambers A (1985) Booktalk Occasional Writing on literature and Children, London: Bodley Head

• Chesterman A, Gallardo San Salvador N , (2000) Yves Translation in context: selected contributions from the EST Congress , John Benjamins Publishing Company

• Coetzee L (2003) Beyond the Horizon: an enquiry into the production and reception of the writing of Enid Blyton , http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10272004-145105/unrestricted/00dissertation.pdf?q=enid-blyton (11.03.10)

• Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Hermanson, K. (1993) ‘Why we need things’ in Lubar S. Kingery, D. (eds) History from Things Essays on material culture Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp.20-29

• Danet, B. & Katriel, T. (1994) ‘No two alike: play and aesthetics in collecting’ in Pearce, S (ed) Interpreting Objects and Collections. Oxon: Routledge pp.220-239

• Dixon, B. (1977) ‘Enid Blyton and her Sunny Stories’ in Political Ideas in Children’s Fiction (Vol. 2) www.peace-workshop.freeuk.com/Catching_Them_Young.htm

• Enid Blyton http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/a-biography-of-enid-blyton.php (12.03.10)

• Formanek, R. (1994) ‘Why they collect: collectors reveal their motivations’ in Pearce, S (ed) Interpreting Objects and Collections. Oxon: Routledge pp327- 335.

• Goodwin, P. (2008) Understanding Children’s Books , Sage: London• Hall, C. & Coles, M. (1999) Children’s Reading Choices, London: Routledge• Hooper-Greenhill, E. (2000) Museums and the Interpretation of visual culture,

London and New York: Routledge• Kean, H. Kirsch, B (2009) A Nation’s Moment and a Teacher’s mark book:

Interconnecting Personal and Public Histories. In Kean, H & Ashton P (eds) People and their Pasts, London: Palgrave Macmillan

• Maroevic I and Edson G (1998) Introduction to museology: the European approach Vlg. Dr.C.Muller-Straten

• Millard (1994) Developing readers in the middle years, Open University Press• Paris S G, (2002) Perspectives on object-centred learning in museums,

London: Routledge

• Pateman, T. (1991) Key Concepts: A guide to Aesthetics, Criticism and the Arts in Education, London: The Falmer Press

• Seuling, B. (2004) How to write a children’s book and get it published Sussex: Wiley & Sons

• YouTube (2010) Noddy and the Broken Bicycle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MfR2yZOJF0&feature=video_response (10.03.10)

• YouTube (2010) Enid Blyton and her career http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWU_uQ8nb5A (10.03.10)

• Van der Walt T, Fairer-Wessels F, Inggs J (2004) Change and renewal in children's literature, Greenwood Publishing Group