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Those Dreadful Children
John, Margery and Annette Carlton are a little bit prim and proper and aren't quite sure what to make of those dreadful children - Pat, Maureen, Biddy and baby Michael Taggerty - who have just moved in next door. Is it possible that the two very different families can become friends?
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1949
30 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Enid Blyton
5,134 books6,318 followersSee also:
Ένιντ Μπλάιτον (Greek)
Enida Blaitona (Latvian)
Энид Блайтон (Russian)
Inid Blajton (Serbian)
Інід Блайтон (Ukrainian)
Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) was an English author of children's books.
Born in South London, Blyton was the eldest of three children, and showed an early interest in music and reading. She was educated at St. Christopher's School, Beckenham, and - having decided not to pursue her music - at Ipswich High School, where she trained as a kindergarten teacher. She taught for five years before her 1924 marriage to editor Hugh Pollock, with whom she had two daughters. This marriage ended in divorce, and Blyton remarried in 1943, to surgeon Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. She died in 1968, one year after her second husband.
Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's.
According to the Index Translationum, Blyton was the fifth most popular author in the world in 2007, coming after Lenin but ahead of Shakespeare.
See also her pen name Mary Pollock
Ένιντ Μπλάιτον (Greek)
Enida Blaitona (Latvian)
Энид Блайтон (Russian)
Inid Blajton (Serbian)
Інід Блайтон (Ukrainian)
Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) was an English author of children's books.
Born in South London, Blyton was the eldest of three children, and showed an early interest in music and reading. She was educated at St. Christopher's School, Beckenham, and - having decided not to pursue her music - at Ipswich High School, where she trained as a kindergarten teacher. She taught for five years before her 1924 marriage to editor Hugh Pollock, with whom she had two daughters. This marriage ended in divorce, and Blyton remarried in 1943, to surgeon Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. She died in 1968, one year after her second husband.
Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's.
According to the Index Translationum, Blyton was the fifth most popular author in the world in 2007, coming after Lenin but ahead of Shakespeare.
See also her pen name Mary Pollock
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
September 13, 2021
4.25 Stars — This is EB at her absolute best! A cautionary children’s fiction novel that centres around two families whom become acquainted a little abruptly & ergo become destined to loathe each other due almost entirely to the perhaps unfortunate or ill-timed circumstances of their initial meeting.
Blyton’s playful yet very accomplished & deliberate prose is a delight and the pages fly along through this fun and somewhat fable-ish tale — if not for the conclusion— of two families with good morals and similar personalities. Both families are instantly seemingly accustomed to competing with one another, unnerving each other and vying for some sort of supremacy in a novel that is a terrific introduction into the politics of neighbourhood life!
Blyton is a joy to read and I — for one — dearly hope the current and future generations ensure their children are encouraged to read classics such as these, if for nothing else than to ensure they enter the novel reading spectrum with a little early-adopted taste.
Blyton’s playful yet very accomplished & deliberate prose is a delight and the pages fly along through this fun and somewhat fable-ish tale — if not for the conclusion— of two families with good morals and similar personalities. Both families are instantly seemingly accustomed to competing with one another, unnerving each other and vying for some sort of supremacy in a novel that is a terrific introduction into the politics of neighbourhood life!
Blyton is a joy to read and I — for one — dearly hope the current and future generations ensure their children are encouraged to read classics such as these, if for nothing else than to ensure they enter the novel reading spectrum with a little early-adopted taste.
June 22, 2016
Take me back to the time when my greatest ambition was to read all books written by Enid Blyton.
November 13, 2018
Quite a good story about childhood on the summer holidays in England circa 1930 or so. This one also preaches a little about how children should behave - not too 'goody-goody', but also listening to and obeying their parents, and never telling 'stories'! If only these books reflected real life 21st century children?
February 21, 2014
The Carlton children are very prim and oh-so-proper and unfailingly immaculate in values, manners and attire. But they also tend to hold grudges, carry tales and sit piously in their orderly, goldfish existence.
Their new neighbours, the Taggerty children know how to have loads of fun. They are loud, rambunctious, perpetually grubby and have an equally mad yet lovable dog called Dopey. But they are not always truthful, not very helpful and quite, quite tiresome.
When the two sets of children are forced to get acquainted with each other, the proverbial sparks fly. They promptly label each other as "Those Dreadful Children" and proceed to have mighty quarrels, petty fights and generous dashes of backyard childhood fun. Along the way, there are some rude shocks in store, some harsh lessons to be learnt and some Blytonesque fruit cake to be demolished.
There is something about coming across an unread Enid Blyton that compels me to pick it up, head home, find a cozy nook where the sunbeams hit just right, make a stack of buttered (and sprinkled with sugar) toast and lose myself in a simpler time. I have always been a Famous Five loyalist (and yes, I was George) but discovering another of Blyton's treasures still makes me happy and nostalgic.
The book, Those Dreadful Children belongs to the Family Adventures series and is a simple homespun tale. Two families with startlingly dissimilar life-views are thrown together and both benefit from it. While the goody-goodies learn to unwind a bit, the brats learn to girdle up and face their responsibilities.
Today, with e-books nudging sentimentality and dog-eared books to the back-shelf....I still feel that for (conditional) purists like me, it does a world of good to buy a delightfully bendy Enid Blyton paperback and relive a bit of my childhood. And along the way, if I learn some humble life lessons (or in my, case relearn them), then I am all for it.
Their new neighbours, the Taggerty children know how to have loads of fun. They are loud, rambunctious, perpetually grubby and have an equally mad yet lovable dog called Dopey. But they are not always truthful, not very helpful and quite, quite tiresome.
When the two sets of children are forced to get acquainted with each other, the proverbial sparks fly. They promptly label each other as "Those Dreadful Children" and proceed to have mighty quarrels, petty fights and generous dashes of backyard childhood fun. Along the way, there are some rude shocks in store, some harsh lessons to be learnt and some Blytonesque fruit cake to be demolished.
There is something about coming across an unread Enid Blyton that compels me to pick it up, head home, find a cozy nook where the sunbeams hit just right, make a stack of buttered (and sprinkled with sugar) toast and lose myself in a simpler time. I have always been a Famous Five loyalist (and yes, I was George) but discovering another of Blyton's treasures still makes me happy and nostalgic.
The book, Those Dreadful Children belongs to the Family Adventures series and is a simple homespun tale. Two families with startlingly dissimilar life-views are thrown together and both benefit from it. While the goody-goodies learn to unwind a bit, the brats learn to girdle up and face their responsibilities.
Today, with e-books nudging sentimentality and dog-eared books to the back-shelf....I still feel that for (conditional) purists like me, it does a world of good to buy a delightfully bendy Enid Blyton paperback and relive a bit of my childhood. And along the way, if I learn some humble life lessons (or in my, case relearn them), then I am all for it.
January 27, 2019
Suka dengan cerita dua keluarga yang berjiran ini. Punyai anak-anak yang ramai dan berkawan baik. Macam-macam perangai mereka ni. Tapi seronok!
Walaupun ada konflik, pembaca cilik pasti banyak belajar dari cerita ini. Berkasih-sayang sesama adik-beradik, cara berkawan, cara berfikir, bertindak selesaikan masalah, taat pada mak ayah dan bagaimana berazam menjadi yang terbaik.
Dari sudut ibu ayah pula, kita dapat lihat warna-warni dunia anak serta kehendak mereka. Memang anak usia sekolah rendah ini banyak tenaga dan sangat berani mencuba. Bukan mudah juga membesarkan anak-anak yang sedang lasak :-)
Walaupun ada konflik, pembaca cilik pasti banyak belajar dari cerita ini. Berkasih-sayang sesama adik-beradik, cara berkawan, cara berfikir, bertindak selesaikan masalah, taat pada mak ayah dan bagaimana berazam menjadi yang terbaik.
Dari sudut ibu ayah pula, kita dapat lihat warna-warni dunia anak serta kehendak mereka. Memang anak usia sekolah rendah ini banyak tenaga dan sangat berani mencuba. Bukan mudah juga membesarkan anak-anak yang sedang lasak :-)
January 1, 2019
One of my favourites when I was a kid.
June 16, 2020
My mind became calm after reading this book. This shows that when children's join together it will be very fun. From this I learnt that we should always respect oru mother and be helpful for her.
September 4, 2025
I really didn't like this one. It was a little too Christian preachy (as if non-white Christians don't pray), also rather violent, (Pat hits Annette, John hits Pat, Pat is almost whipped by his father), and animal abuse - where Dopey the dog is beaten by the housekeeper but it's taken as a huge joke by everyone. The raising of the children is entirely the responsibility of the mothers, and the fathers are jolly, hardworking men who are at the mercy of their families. Sensitive John is an embarrassment to his father for not being rowdy enough, and it is repeatedly mentioned that girls aren't as tough as boys. Of the parents, the new neighbours, The Taggertys are clearly awful parents - as jolly as they are - and it is their children who need the most redeeming, though even that was a struggle.
February 17, 2017
Enid Blyton nunca desilude. Acho que é um excelente livro para crianças, principalmente na etapa onde eles estão a construir a sua personalidade.
March 9, 2019
Just as lovely as when I repeatedly read it as a child, its a very shabby copy now. Different elements are evident to me as an adult, however, live-in help not the norm, mothers not working etc. The thing i don't recall as a child was the fact one family's children were Christians and the other were not and how this changed behaviours though the story. Maybe I missed this faith element as I did go to Sunday School or maybe I just enjoyed the story as a child does rather than analysing the text.
Currently I do read books about Jesus and faith so it was a surprise to find I had totally missed the importance of Jesus and faith in a book I thought I remembered so well and had always enjoyed so much.
Still five stars!!! Even more so now 😊
Currently I do read books about Jesus and faith so it was a surprise to find I had totally missed the importance of Jesus and faith in a book I thought I remembered so well and had always enjoyed so much.
Still five stars!!! Even more so now 😊
August 30, 2012
rereading one of my favourite books as a kid. :)
June 20, 2019
Satu lagi novel Enid Blyton yang jadi favoritku.
Anak-anak keluarga carlton kedatangan tetangga baru: keluarga Taggerty. Namun, baru pertemuan pertama, mereka sudah merasa saling tidak cocok.
Anak-anak carlton yang rapi, terawat, dan sangat bersopan santun sampai-sampai dikira sombong. Sementara anak-anak keluarga Taggerty tampak tidak terurus dan berperilaku liar.
Masalahnya, Mr. Carlton ingin anak-anaknya belajar dari keluarga Taggerty, terutama untuk John Carlton, yang dianggapnya harus bermain sebagaimana layaknya anak lelaki keluarga Taggerty.
Novelnya lucu! Selain bercerita tentang keributan antara keluarga Carlton dan taggerty yang awalnya sering berselisih, namun ada nilai moral juga yang bisa kita dapat dari membaca novel ini, terutama tentang bertanggungjawab dan kejujuran.
Anak-anak keluarga carlton kedatangan tetangga baru: keluarga Taggerty. Namun, baru pertemuan pertama, mereka sudah merasa saling tidak cocok.
Anak-anak carlton yang rapi, terawat, dan sangat bersopan santun sampai-sampai dikira sombong. Sementara anak-anak keluarga Taggerty tampak tidak terurus dan berperilaku liar.
Masalahnya, Mr. Carlton ingin anak-anaknya belajar dari keluarga Taggerty, terutama untuk John Carlton, yang dianggapnya harus bermain sebagaimana layaknya anak lelaki keluarga Taggerty.
Novelnya lucu! Selain bercerita tentang keributan antara keluarga Carlton dan taggerty yang awalnya sering berselisih, namun ada nilai moral juga yang bisa kita dapat dari membaca novel ini, terutama tentang bertanggungjawab dan kejujuran.
May 22, 2020
I had this book as a child, and on first reading I didn’t enjoy it because there were no fairies or talking dolls (I was very young). As I grew older, I reread it, and liked it. I was happy to find a copy recently.
Those dreadful children go a long way to improve each other, in a realistic manner. The ending is classic Blyton, and caps a great read
Those dreadful children go a long way to improve each other, in a realistic manner. The ending is classic Blyton, and caps a great read
May 5, 2021
Good old fashioned tale, a bit dated I think for this modern world. But it had a good message that should be around more today! I still I love the nostalgia and it took me back to my childhood of care free days and Enid Blyton books!
February 3, 2023
Tersebutlah ada dua keluarga bertetangga, yang satu begitu sopan dan tertib, yang satu semaunya sendiri dan sering dicap tak tahu sopan. Awalnya, anak-anak keluarga ini tak mau berkawan, tetapi lambat lain, mereka mulai akrab dan bermain bersama. Anak-anak yang awalnya terlalu kaku belajar untuk bisa menikmati masa kecilnya. Namun, ada seorang anak dari keluarga yang dianggap 'liar' yang gemar berbohong dan semau sendiri. Beberapa bagian memang agak 'menggurui' dan agamis sekali XD
October 14, 2023
Literally read this book for the nostalgia. I was gifted this by my then stepdad when I was about 9 and it was my favourite book for the longest time. I suddenly remembered it the other day and so decided to read it again. It was so nostalgic!
December 30, 2017
A very good and small book. Any age person can read but better for small kids. if anyone is starting to read books ( new reader ) I will suggest reading it and all the other books in series.
March 2, 2018
a world book day 're read, to remind me why I love books
February 16, 2019
One of my favourite book of childhood.
July 23, 2019
this was the first book i read in english and i absolutely loved it.
September 10, 2019
A clever look at two neighboring families, both of which consider the other to have "dreadful children." The children get to know each other, and the situation changes.
September 29, 2020
This is a good ol' fashioned children's story that shows first impressions aren't always that accurate and you can find good friends in the strangest of places.
August 4, 2021
it was quite a nice book about children.it mainly talks about two stereotypical categories of children who meet, become friends, and change each other for the better
October 20, 2022
Very charming story of its time. Some worthwhile lessons for children and adults though.
Read
October 15, 2023All I remember about this book is the wild ones' fantastic garden, more of a mini-forest perfect for adventuring in. Here is where I first heard of a weeping willow.
September 25, 2025
the three
January 19, 2017
Yet another Blyton that I return to, again and again. I must have read it first, a good 30 plus years ago, and instantly fell in love with it. I must have read the majority of Blyton books in my younger years (and still do :-D ) and although the Famous Five were excellent for adventures etc, if I had to choose a "family-orientated" Blyton, not really in a series, I would still pick "Those Dreadful Children". I remember constantly reading my very first copy of this book - I can still remember the picture on the front!! - and enjoying it over and over again. Very sadly, the first copy I owned mysteriously disappeared, to this day I don't know what happened to it. I remember scouring charity shops and second-hand shops for another copy - it didn't matter if it wasn't "my old copy", I wanted the book back! Then, about 25 years ago, they started republished Blyton books - still in their original form, not moderised! - and I wrote to the book publishers, explaining how much I loved this book and how my first copy vanished. And they sent me a complimentary copy, obviously which I still have to this day :-D
The book is the usual Blyton fare, with two sets of families, the exact opposite of each other. The Carltons, who are well brought up, with young spoiled Annette, Margery and Jack, who's not a "proper boy", preferring the quiet life than full of adventure, with their over-fussy mother and a "Blyton-esque" dad, a all round good egg :-) Then there's the Taggerty's, who run wild - baby Michael, young Biddy, Maureen and Patrick, who's a handful and a half, with their doting mother, a decent father and the "mother's help" Bridget. The two sets of children are more or less forced together when the Taggerty's move to the house behind the Carltons. The two families don't really get along at first but both sets of children pick up each others habits. and are far better for it, with the Carlton children learning how to have fun and to get dirty and the Taggerty's learning manners etc. Obviously, when Mrs Taggerty is badly injured in a collision with a car, everyone pulls together for a very happy ending.
I can understand why so many reviewers consider this one of Blyton's best works ... I do too!
The book is the usual Blyton fare, with two sets of families, the exact opposite of each other. The Carltons, who are well brought up, with young spoiled Annette, Margery and Jack, who's not a "proper boy", preferring the quiet life than full of adventure, with their over-fussy mother and a "Blyton-esque" dad, a all round good egg :-) Then there's the Taggerty's, who run wild - baby Michael, young Biddy, Maureen and Patrick, who's a handful and a half, with their doting mother, a decent father and the "mother's help" Bridget. The two sets of children are more or less forced together when the Taggerty's move to the house behind the Carltons. The two families don't really get along at first but both sets of children pick up each others habits. and are far better for it, with the Carlton children learning how to have fun and to get dirty and the Taggerty's learning manners etc. Obviously, when Mrs Taggerty is badly injured in a collision with a car, everyone pulls together for a very happy ending.
I can understand why so many reviewers consider this one of Blyton's best works ... I do too!
July 19, 2009
Haduhhh.. gua lupa judul English-nya apaan yaa?
Anywayy.. "Anak2 Liar" ini adalah buku yang gua baca pas jaman SD dulu dhe kayanya and walau gua ngga terlalu inget ceritanya tapii gua inget kalo nih buku bagusss..
And beberapa waktu lalu gua sempet nemu lagi nih buku jadilah gua baca ulang and ternyata bener, nih buku emang bagus.
Ceritanya tentang dua keluarga yang anak2nya saling bertolak belakang sifatnya yang mana kedua bokapnya berteman baik semasa sekolah dulu and sekarang kedua keluarga ini hidup bertetangga!
Masing2 sama2 3 orang anak yang seumuran semua tapii sifat anak2 keluarga yang satu tuh alim2, penurut ama ortu and ngga berani mencoba sesuatu yang baru.
Sementara anak tetangga itu pada berani semua and mainannya juga seru2 ampe bikin tetangga mereka ngerasa permainan mereka selama ini so very boring, ahahaha.. tapii sisi lemahnya adalah nih anak2 cuek aja berbohong and males bantu ortu mereka.
In the end masing2 anak menularkan sifat baik mereka.
Ada satu adegan yang berkesan bangets, yaitu ketika ibu si anak2 liar sakit terus si anak paling gede bikin perjanjian ama Tuhan kalo he'll be good asal Tuhan menyembuhkan ibunya.
Tapii terus dinasihatin kalo ngga boleh githu.. kalo kita udah janji ama Tuhan, we must keep that promise, terlepas dari Tuhan akan mengabulkan doa kita apa ngga.
Waahh.. kata2 itu sungguh berkesan bangets!!
Kalo kalian punya waktu, baca dhe buku yang satu inii.. and it's also recommended for children, ya iya laahh.. emang ini jatahnya anak2 yang baca, wakakakak :p
Anywayy.. "Anak2 Liar" ini adalah buku yang gua baca pas jaman SD dulu dhe kayanya and walau gua ngga terlalu inget ceritanya tapii gua inget kalo nih buku bagusss..
And beberapa waktu lalu gua sempet nemu lagi nih buku jadilah gua baca ulang and ternyata bener, nih buku emang bagus.
Ceritanya tentang dua keluarga yang anak2nya saling bertolak belakang sifatnya yang mana kedua bokapnya berteman baik semasa sekolah dulu and sekarang kedua keluarga ini hidup bertetangga!
Masing2 sama2 3 orang anak yang seumuran semua tapii sifat anak2 keluarga yang satu tuh alim2, penurut ama ortu and ngga berani mencoba sesuatu yang baru.
Sementara anak tetangga itu pada berani semua and mainannya juga seru2 ampe bikin tetangga mereka ngerasa permainan mereka selama ini so very boring, ahahaha.. tapii sisi lemahnya adalah nih anak2 cuek aja berbohong and males bantu ortu mereka.
In the end masing2 anak menularkan sifat baik mereka.
Ada satu adegan yang berkesan bangets, yaitu ketika ibu si anak2 liar sakit terus si anak paling gede bikin perjanjian ama Tuhan kalo he'll be good asal Tuhan menyembuhkan ibunya.
Tapii terus dinasihatin kalo ngga boleh githu.. kalo kita udah janji ama Tuhan, we must keep that promise, terlepas dari Tuhan akan mengabulkan doa kita apa ngga.
Waahh.. kata2 itu sungguh berkesan bangets!!
Kalo kalian punya waktu, baca dhe buku yang satu inii.. and it's also recommended for children, ya iya laahh.. emang ini jatahnya anak2 yang baca, wakakakak :p
November 27, 2011
Those dreadful children! That's what both groups of children think when they first encounter each other, and rightly so! The Taggerty children are rough, without manners, loud and they don't treat their mother with respect. The Carlton children aren't allowed to play with rough children, or play and get dirty, and spoil their younger sister. Both groups come together and rub the corners off each other, and have fun while doing so. But it takes a great shock for the Taggerty children to learn to respect and love their mother, and for Pat to find out what being a Christian really means.
Another excellent, moral filled book from famous children's author, Enid Blyton. I love all her work, although I haven't read this one before it is a really good example of her work and her writing. She knew what made good children, a combination of both the Taggertys and the Carltons.
Another excellent, moral filled book from famous children's author, Enid Blyton. I love all her work, although I haven't read this one before it is a really good example of her work and her writing. She knew what made good children, a combination of both the Taggertys and the Carltons.
October 12, 2013
Baru menyadari, bahwa tulisan-tulisan Enid Blyton kayaknya yang selain Lima Sekawan, pasti ada muatan religi-nya. Anak-Anak Liar adalah buku kedua-nya Enid (selain lima sekawan & Fatty cs) yang baru-baru ini kubaca karena kebetulan yang ada dekat dalam jangkauan. Setelah dunia permainan anak-anak, lalu dimulailah konflik. Mmmmm, agak kayak sinetron jaman sekarang (yang sekarang niru yang dulu, lebih tepatnya, ya?): ada unsur kecelakaan dan orang-orang berubah setelah ada kecelakaan. Lalu masuklah percakapan mengenai agama & Tuhan, khotbah dan pertobatan. A bit boring at that part. Lalu berkali-kali dipakai kata "Kafir" yang membuatku jadi grrrrhhhhh.... Okay, I think I would go back to Lima Sekawan, Fatty Cs, dll yg tidak harus dimuati dengan pesan-pesan religius.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews