Our Partnership with Enid Blyton and Hachette Children's Group
A New Relationship
Enid Blyton is one of the most popular children's authors of all time, best known for The Famous Five books. An especially prolific writer, she wrote over 700 books and 2,000 short stories, and her books have sold over 500 million copies worldwide. This design reproduces iconic illustrations from The Famous Five that capture the spirit of summer holiday adventures.
Photo Credit: © Hodder & Stoughton Limited. All rights reserved.
A Shared Passion
Enid Blyton began her career as a schoolteacher before becoming a children’s book author. A nature writer early in her career, she had an atmospheric style that found its way into her work through representations of life in a rural landscape. Though her works spanned multiple genres, it was stories that focused on family that were her favourite to write.
We’re delighted to work with Hachette Children's Group, one of Britain's leading children's publishers, on this special design that celebrates the nostalgic charm of Blyton’s work.
Both Hachette Children's Group and Paperblanks are a part of the Hachette publishing family. We are honoured to work with this acclaimed publisher of landmark works of bestselling fiction and non-fiction, and to share their passion for telling great stories.
Creating this Exclusive Collection
Working Together
This collaboration was eagerly embraced by both teams as an opportunity to celebrate Blyton’s stories with their classic mix of adventure and friendship. Our shared love for literature and storytelling revealed a natural partnership with a desire to bring new life to iconic works of fiction.
“The goal was to blend the vintage look of the illustrations with the classic old-leather look of our covers, to contrast with the colourful characters and a rich background tone.” – Alicia, Graphic Artist
Developing the Release
Developing this release was a joy for our talented Graphics team, who delighted in harnessing the freedom of childhood summer adventures and translating this to a Paperblanks cover design. The illustrations seen on this new release are from two books in The Famous Five series: Five on a Treasure Island and Five on Finniston Farm.
“With its worn-out and vintage look, this design brings us back to childhood, to endless hours of explorations among friends. It invokes the power of friendship and the curiosity of knowing the whole wide world, seen through the eyes of enthusiastic children. The marine scene represented captures this spirit at its best.” – Adina, Associate Art Director
The image on the back cover is set atop a letter penned by Blyton to Paul Hodder-Williams in 1966.
Photo Credit: © Hodder & Stoughton Limited. All rights reserved.
The Future
The opportunity to bring the classic charm of Enid Blyton’s work to life on our covers has been a new and exciting challenge, one born out of a joint admiration and excitement for what could be created together. We hope The Famous Five series is the first of many collaborations with Hachette Children's Group as our partnership with the Hachette family continues to grow.
Introducing "The Famous Five"
Enid Blyton – The Famous Five
Picnics, summer holidays, and lashings of ginger beer… it’s hard not to picture the stories of Enid Blyton when thinking of these nostalgic moments.
The Famous Five is a series of children’s adventure stories that centre around a group of four cousins – Julian, Dick, Anne, and George – and George’s dog, Timmy. Reproduced here are the illustrations from the covers of two books in the series, Five on a Treasure Island and Five on Finniston Farm.
These classic images are the works of Eileen Soper, whose illustrations bring the wonderfully nostalgic quality of Blyton’s works to life. We are honoured to celebrate Enid Blyton’s works with this commemorative design.
