Five Lose Dad in the Garden Centre

Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups

by Bruno Vincent

When eccentric scientist Uncle Quentin goes AWOL in the garden centre, Julian, George, Dick, Anne and Timmy the Dog must, in between wolfing down slices of delicious fruit cake, race against the clock to locate him before it closes.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Short Stories

112 pages, Hardcover

Published May 18, 2017

About the author

Bruno Vincent was a bookseller and book editor before he was an author. His humour books for grown-ups, co-authored with Jon Butler, were national bestsellers and have been translated into seven languages. The TUMBLEWATER books are his first for children.

Reviews

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good addition to the series with a surprisingly poignant ending.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun parody book, we’ve all been dragged to a garden centre at some point!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

My children bought this for a Father's Day present for my husband. He read it and declared it a bit of fun, but preferred the real Famous Five. Can't argue with that really, but this was a bit of fun light reading for adults who are nostalgic for the original childrens stories. Clearly the author has mapped out a path for each of the characters in adulthood, which may, or may not, ruin innocent happy memories!

[Jenny Ilgunas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading as my Dad would easily get himself lost in a garden centre on purpose, but not by finding a pub!

[Sunshine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read but I think Enid would be very disappointed with The Famous Five's language, though she may have let Timmy off at a push.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five

Not a silly usual five go type book ! In face quiet prescient on familial relationships! Quiet a heartening quick read

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. It had a sweet element to it, and I did crack up a few times. It was nice to have a story that focused more on George.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending of this story is why it gets 5 stars.

I wasn't sure where it was going with the misogynist thing, but it turned out well. One thing that made me pause was that I don't recall George's dad like that from the original stories. From memory, it was George's dad who let her dress how she wanted, gave her the island and encouraged her and the others to be independent and adventurous (if my memory is correct, part of this was because he didn't want kids under his feet, but that's hardly misogyny). Not having the emotional connection to express love in words is also not misogyny, but more an indication of masculine stereotypes of the era. I did like the pub scene where George's dad realised what deadbeats the other men were.

I like the illustrations, but some of them don't quite fit, and their placement in the book is wrong.

P.S. You should read this one BEFORE Five get on the property ladder.

[Abin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my Father's Day gift as I'm a big fan of the original Famous Five by Enid Blyton.
Although the book uses the original characters created by Enid Blyton, the writing style is totally different as this is written by a different author. However, I must admit that I prefer the original Famous Five series by Enid Blyton to this one. That said, this book was an okay read with a good dash of humour here and there.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun little gimmicky take on the Famous Five books but for adults. In this one, the gang takes George’s dad to the garden centre to get him a new shed after he accidentally explodes the house with an experiment in his secret laboratory. Hilarity and social criticism ensues.

Is it the best in the series? No, but it is still pretty good and ideal for a father’s day present or something similar. And it made me chuckle.

[Clara Raposo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tenho lido estes novos livros dis 5 - já não são escritos pela Enid Blyton, mas sim pelo Bruno Vincent. É leitura light, com os 5 já adultos e não extamente os heröis-modelos da infância.
Não deixam de ser livros atuais.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strangely emotionally compulsive return to the earlier works.

The characterisations and the rejection of the metafictional dialogue mark this as heart wrenching manipulation of the satirical dialogue worthy of Michel Houellebecq.

A great read for the whole family.

[Kimberley Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a huge Enid Blyton fan as a kid - read all 21 Famous Five books and re-read most if not all.

Thought this adult parody might be fun.

Bit of a one trick pony to be honest, and I wasn't overly impressed.

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not the best of this series of books, but still had a few chuckles. I think it captured the nature of the characters to a degree. I did enjoy the portrayal of Timmy in this a lot - good to see he's a cunning old devil.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read lots of Enid Blyton when younger so when this was bought for husband for fathers day I had to read it. Familiar characters and it was a bit of fun bringing them back grown up. Good light read and may try others in the series.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and fun

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was funny. Very short but an amusing little read.

[David Toone · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a light, funny read.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Rather fun. To be honest, I should have used the reading time towards books I really want to read. Just a bit curious. Can't see myself reading another.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't know what to think!!!!!!!!

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very funny book, but also strangely emotional! It was an entertaining read which I think most sons and daughters can relate to in some sense- I thoroughly recommend this series.

[Susan]

A humerous trip down memory lane!

[Kay Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great little book which brought back memories. Loved it.

[Kerri Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the original Eileen Soper illustrations re-captioned to suit the book. These are a bit of fun and takes me back to my childhood.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A moderately entertaining diversion.

[Mrs B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uncle Quentin goes AWOL in Garden Universe and George is on the warpath. A cheeky and fun read.

[Rhianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read with some fun parts

[Ch Hussain]

Can anybody tell me that it is suitable for kids less thn of age 12

[Natasha May Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read these with Nicholas. Quite fun.

[Xanthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Probably one of the best in this series. Clever satire, wry humour, and a nice ending.