LONDON, (Reuters) – Noddy, the beloved toy character created by Enid Blyton 60 years ago, returns to the book stores today in “Noddy and the Farmyard Muddle”, written by the late author’s granddaughter Sophie Smallwood.
The book will be the first classic Noddy tale to appear in 46 years and has been illustrated by Robert Tyndall who has been the artist for the stories since 1953.
Smallwood, 39, who has admitted the challenge she faced was daunting, has created new characters including Stumpy the Elephant and The Bull and retained several old favourites like Big-Ears and Mr. Plod the policeman.
According to the book’s publisher HarperCollins, in the story the goblins are up to their old tricks again, turning cows blue, making the pigs woolly and driving the tractor into the pond. Fortunately Noddy is at hand to put things straight.
But among the notable absentees are the golliwogs, characters inspired by black-faced minstrel rag dolls which have gone out of fashion in Britain because the term is widely interpreted as being racist. “The golliwog characters haven’t been part of the Noddy ecosystem for at least two decades now,” said Jeff Norton, senior vice president at Chorion, the company which owns Blyton’s literary estate.
