I was raised on Enid Blyton. Reading was my constant companion, and a battered Enid Blyton book became almost a permanent extension of my hand. I don’t care what the grammar police say about her, or that she was allegedly a bit of a dragon – I grew to love reading because of her books, as have millions of other children.

I read them all and was transported to the various worlds of The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, Malory Towers, St Clares, The Wishing Chair, and my favourite place to be, The Magic Faraway Tree.

I would read with a torch under the covers for hours, eventually nodding off hoping that Silky, Moonface and Saucepan Man would visit me in my sleep. Or, that the next morning Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog would be standing on our doorstep, desperately in need of a sixth member to return to Kirrin Island with them and asking if my bags were packed with enough homemade ginger cake for the trip.

So it was with some trepidation that I read about Hodder giving Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series a 21st-century makeover.

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Just after 4pm yesterday, the judges for the 2010 Man Booker Prize for Fiction announced the longlist.

A total of 138 books, 14 of which were called in by the judges rather than being submitted by the publishers, were considered for the world famous ‘Man Booker Dozen’ longlist of 13 books.

Andrew Motion, chair of the judges said:

Here are thirteen exceptional novels – books we have chosen for their intrinsic quality, without reference to the past work of their authors. Wide-ranging in their geography and their concern, they tell powerful stories which make the familiar strange and cover an enormous range of history and feeling. We feel confident that they will provoke and entertain.

Here are the lucky 13…

Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey

The old timer of the group, if he wins this year it will be a history-making hat trick.

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