What do you think?
Barney Mysteries #5
Rätsel um den wandelnden Schneemann.
Barney, Roger, Diane and Snubby love solving mysteries, with the help of Loony the spaniel and Miranda the monkey.A cosy old house surrounded by snow-covered hills seems a perfect place to spend the winter holidays, but the peace is disturbed by unexplained noises.Who could have knocked at the door in the middle of the night, and what is the noise that Snubby hears coming from the kitchen?
Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
About the author
Enid Blyton
5,309 books6,486 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 43 reviews
December 30, 2020
This is one of my favorite Enid Blyton books, mainly because of how funny it is. The book does not have the most clever mystery, but there were still some pretty intense moments. The Famous Five are Blyton’s most popular books, but I actually love the characters from the Barney mysteries more. I especially adore Snubby and his antics. And Barney is someone that has a little more depth compared to Blyton’s other characters. The characters are likable and the story is amusing, but the thing I love the most though is the setting. A cabin in the snowy wilderness makes the book exciting and it’s a lot of fun to read the characters enjoying the winter goodness. Basically, it’s a great winter-themed book and gives you a cozy feeling.
December 29, 2021
Not as good as the previous books in the series but very entertaining. Snubby and Loony the dog are as maddening and amusing as ever.
November 3, 2019
...reading with my 11 year old daughter...
We're loving this bunch of little fellas! But we miss Timmy - the dog.
Loony is simply too silly.
We're loving this bunch of little fellas! But we miss Timmy - the dog.
Loony is simply too silly.
January 16, 2022
Als Kind kam die Geschichte mit natürlich spannender vor, aber dennoch war sie auch heute noch sehr angenehm zu lesen.
June 1, 2017
One of my all time favourites, not I must confess because of the mystery, but for the magic of winter time fun and frolic. The toboggan rides, skating on the frozen lake, building a snowman and a snow house, the snowball fights, the mad Loony and no less crazy Miranda, and of course, the scrumptious food! Each meal from breakfast to supper is described in great detail. You can almost savour each bite followed by steaming hot cups of cocoa. The mystery is but a tiny addition to the glorious holiday. A must read for Enid Blyton fans.
March 20, 2021
The fifth ‘Barney’ mystery is, if anything, even slighter than its predecessors. Not much detecting goes on! Yet the children have fun—overseen on this occasion by Mrs Tickle—and the animals cause their usual mayhem. The story flies by pleasantly enough.
February 22, 2021
Tak tau lah pintu puaka tu yg mana satu 🤔🤔.
July 6, 2012
Rat-a-tat Mystery
6 July 2012
I have pretty much seen this book sitting on my parents bookshelf for most of my life so when I recently decided to reread the Enid Blyton books to see how children's literature is written I decided that I would give this one a go. The main reason I chose this one is because it was hardcover, and while there are stains in the book (no, not those types of stains, this is a children's book) it delighted me to discover that it was a first edition. Unfortunately the stains in the book are going to cause the value to diminish substantially. Well, I just checked out the value of this book as a first edition, and to be honest, it isn't worth much, but still, it is hard back and first edition, so it will go into my collection.
This was actually a pretty poor story and in a way it seemed that Blyton was attempting to write a thriller for children. In that context I think it works quite well, and while I would balk at the concept of horror children's literature I should remember that shows like Scooby Doo and books like Goosebumps were actually quite popular. Blyton does not deal with ghosts and mean monsters, rather she deals with mysteries and fantasy. In a way her books can be divided into fairy tales (such as the Faraway Tree and Wishing Chair books) and detective novels (such as the Funf Freunde – that's the Famous Five in German) and I have noticed that I have been reading a lot of her detective novels of late. That is probably because she actually wrote quite a lot of them. In fact Blyton was an incredibly prolific writer, to the point that Wikipedia has trouble listing all of her works.
The children in this book do not have a name for their group, and in a way seem more shallow than usual. That is with the exception of Barney, who seems to be the central figure in the book. Barney was a circus boy who lost his mother and then on one of their mysteries discovered not only his father but that his father was a very wealthy and well connected man. Unfortunately because I have not read the previous books I really do not know why Barney was separated from his father. Once again there is a dog as a member of the group but there is also a monkey.
The story is set during Christmas time and the children are invited to a large house owned by Barney's father. However things turn a little sour when a storm front approaches cutting the house off from the rest of civilisation (and remember this is England, meaning that a Christmastime storm front means lots and lots of snow). The house has a background where a mysterious figure would knock on the door and then vanish. It appears that this is a well known legend because the antagonists of the book use this. However it is interesting to note that the antagonists actually exist only in the background, which is a strategy used in most thrillers. Consider Alien for instance. We know that the alien is on the ship, but we never actually see it, we only see what it has done. This is the same with this book - the antagonists only actually appear and interact with one of the characters in one chapter, for the rest of the book they exist only in the background.
Look, even though as I think about this book more I should be giving it a higher value, I still do not consider that it was one of Blyton's better books. However, I really should up it to at least 6, in fact I will do that simply because of the fact that Blyton does use the style of a thriller, and does it well.
6 July 2012
I have pretty much seen this book sitting on my parents bookshelf for most of my life so when I recently decided to reread the Enid Blyton books to see how children's literature is written I decided that I would give this one a go. The main reason I chose this one is because it was hardcover, and while there are stains in the book (no, not those types of stains, this is a children's book) it delighted me to discover that it was a first edition. Unfortunately the stains in the book are going to cause the value to diminish substantially. Well, I just checked out the value of this book as a first edition, and to be honest, it isn't worth much, but still, it is hard back and first edition, so it will go into my collection.
This was actually a pretty poor story and in a way it seemed that Blyton was attempting to write a thriller for children. In that context I think it works quite well, and while I would balk at the concept of horror children's literature I should remember that shows like Scooby Doo and books like Goosebumps were actually quite popular. Blyton does not deal with ghosts and mean monsters, rather she deals with mysteries and fantasy. In a way her books can be divided into fairy tales (such as the Faraway Tree and Wishing Chair books) and detective novels (such as the Funf Freunde – that's the Famous Five in German) and I have noticed that I have been reading a lot of her detective novels of late. That is probably because she actually wrote quite a lot of them. In fact Blyton was an incredibly prolific writer, to the point that Wikipedia has trouble listing all of her works.
The children in this book do not have a name for their group, and in a way seem more shallow than usual. That is with the exception of Barney, who seems to be the central figure in the book. Barney was a circus boy who lost his mother and then on one of their mysteries discovered not only his father but that his father was a very wealthy and well connected man. Unfortunately because I have not read the previous books I really do not know why Barney was separated from his father. Once again there is a dog as a member of the group but there is also a monkey.
The story is set during Christmas time and the children are invited to a large house owned by Barney's father. However things turn a little sour when a storm front approaches cutting the house off from the rest of civilisation (and remember this is England, meaning that a Christmastime storm front means lots and lots of snow). The house has a background where a mysterious figure would knock on the door and then vanish. It appears that this is a well known legend because the antagonists of the book use this. However it is interesting to note that the antagonists actually exist only in the background, which is a strategy used in most thrillers. Consider Alien for instance. We know that the alien is on the ship, but we never actually see it, we only see what it has done. This is the same with this book - the antagonists only actually appear and interact with one of the characters in one chapter, for the rest of the book they exist only in the background.
Look, even though as I think about this book more I should be giving it a higher value, I still do not consider that it was one of Blyton's better books. However, I really should up it to at least 6, in fact I will do that simply because of the fact that Blyton does use the style of a thriller, and does it well.
September 24, 2018
I had heard that the two last books of the Barney Mysteries series were not as good as the first four ones. After reading this one, I don't think there was so much difference. It is a bit shorter, and the mystery had some childish elements (more childish than usual in Enid Blyton books, I mean). There's the snowman apparently moving and looking through the windows... I have read a review comparing this with a Scooby Doo adventure, and there's some of that, but overall it's not bad.
I was glad to see Barney happy with his family, after finally finding his father. That was nice, and it contrasted with Roger and Diana's father, who is at his most indifferent and unsympathetic towards his own children and his orphaned nephew. Barney's family was nicer, including his grandmother. Apparently, there was a disconnect between how that grandmother had been described in the past (Barney thought she was the cause his mother ran away). It may be that the old lady has changed or, more likely, Blyton forgot how she had described her.
The mystery was short, but it wasn't uninteresting, being a bit original (no secret passages this time). It did finish a bit abruptly, as we don't even get to see the bad guys apprehended.
Perhaps not the most elaborate or inspired of Blyton's books, but entertaining enough and a solid entry in the series.
I was glad to see Barney happy with his family, after finally finding his father. That was nice, and it contrasted with Roger and Diana's father, who is at his most indifferent and unsympathetic towards his own children and his orphaned nephew. Barney's family was nicer, including his grandmother. Apparently, there was a disconnect between how that grandmother had been described in the past (Barney thought she was the cause his mother ran away). It may be that the old lady has changed or, more likely, Blyton forgot how she had described her.
The mystery was short, but it wasn't uninteresting, being a bit original (no secret passages this time). It did finish a bit abruptly, as we don't even get to see the bad guys apprehended.
Perhaps not the most elaborate or inspired of Blyton's books, but entertaining enough and a solid entry in the series.
April 28, 2019
A good read... Barney, snubby, Roger & Diana all go to spend their winter hols in a old house admist thick snow. And the sound of knocker brings up a mystery for them to go through. The language is simple and lucid. Full of mystery the book was fun to read.
September 8, 2018
I'm thrilled that Barney has reuinited with his family :') He deserves the happiness.
August 14, 2021
The legend said that when an unknown person knocked at the door of Rat-A-Tat House, there was a traitor present - but the only people in the house are Barney and Co, enjoying a winter holiday. What can be going on?
This book returns the children to the familiar setting of an old country house with a historic past full of legends and secrets. This time, though, it’s a house belonging to the family Barney has newly discovered. It’s lovely to see Barney settled into his new family - Blyton describes the pride in his voice when he talks about his newly-found father, but also suggests a realistic distance for a sixteen-year-old used to independent living. There is a gaping continuity error: in the last book we were told that Barney’s mother ran away from her husband because his mother was unkind to her, but here we meet the mother as a twinkling kindly granny, living in an entirely different place to where she was found in the last book. It would have been so easy to put in a sentence or two explaining, or to avoid the granny at all.
The mystery in this book is very straightforward, but the charm lies in the enjoyment of the winter holiday, with Barney no longer an intruder forced to sneak into an old house to steal a bed for the night, but the generous host. As ever there is real danger which Snubby, in search of adventure, seems almost unaware of, and the police are competent professionals with a serious job to do, rather than the bumbling locals or jovial admirers of the young heroes of other Blyton books.
Instead of Miss Pepper, this book has Mrs Tickle, who starts as a comic caricature and ends as a respected responsible adult. The book treads a wonderfully fine line between the fairy-tale and comedy of names, strange happenings and old stories and a more grown-up investigation and understanding, very suitable for a young audience just teetering on the brink between childish belief in the impossible and young adult desire to find out the truth.
This book returns the children to the familiar setting of an old country house with a historic past full of legends and secrets. This time, though, it’s a house belonging to the family Barney has newly discovered. It’s lovely to see Barney settled into his new family - Blyton describes the pride in his voice when he talks about his newly-found father, but also suggests a realistic distance for a sixteen-year-old used to independent living. There is a gaping continuity error: in the last book we were told that Barney’s mother ran away from her husband because his mother was unkind to her, but here we meet the mother as a twinkling kindly granny, living in an entirely different place to where she was found in the last book. It would have been so easy to put in a sentence or two explaining, or to avoid the granny at all.
The mystery in this book is very straightforward, but the charm lies in the enjoyment of the winter holiday, with Barney no longer an intruder forced to sneak into an old house to steal a bed for the night, but the generous host. As ever there is real danger which Snubby, in search of adventure, seems almost unaware of, and the police are competent professionals with a serious job to do, rather than the bumbling locals or jovial admirers of the young heroes of other Blyton books.
Instead of Miss Pepper, this book has Mrs Tickle, who starts as a comic caricature and ends as a respected responsible adult. The book treads a wonderfully fine line between the fairy-tale and comedy of names, strange happenings and old stories and a more grown-up investigation and understanding, very suitable for a young audience just teetering on the brink between childish belief in the impossible and young adult desire to find out the truth.
February 2, 2024
This may sound ridiculous, however this is the best book ever written in my opinion. am a huge book worm and usually refuse to re-read a book, BUT THIS BOOK, oh my god! I first read when this book when I was a child and I will forever return to it.
I struggle with anxiety and depression and when ever I am ever I am having a difficult day, I always run to this book, and every time without fail, it always makes me feel a bit better, even on my worst days. Its so nostalgic and so, so cozy. Always make me feel so wholesome and happy… can’t wait to read this again lol
Would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone, however if you have children you MUST introduce them to this book, I promise you they will be forever greatful for you doing this. The nostalgic feeling they will feel when revisiting this book one day, is enough to ensure that you will never be put in a nursing home lol. It was my dad who introduced me Enid Blyton and I am so thankful every day that he day that he did.
I genuinely hope you enjoy this book as much and I do, and a strong suggest that you pick some other Enid Blyton books off the shelf she is a truly amazing author, and will have a piece if my heart.
I adore this book and I hope you do too… Robynn xxx
I struggle with anxiety and depression and when ever I am ever I am having a difficult day, I always run to this book, and every time without fail, it always makes me feel a bit better, even on my worst days. Its so nostalgic and so, so cozy. Always make me feel so wholesome and happy… can’t wait to read this again lol
Would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone, however if you have children you MUST introduce them to this book, I promise you they will be forever greatful for you doing this. The nostalgic feeling they will feel when revisiting this book one day, is enough to ensure that you will never be put in a nursing home lol. It was my dad who introduced me Enid Blyton and I am so thankful every day that he day that he did.
I genuinely hope you enjoy this book as much and I do, and a strong suggest that you pick some other Enid Blyton books off the shelf she is a truly amazing author, and will have a piece if my heart.
I adore this book and I hope you do too… Robynn xxx
October 11, 2025
I'm glad I managed to get a copy of this story, but it wasn't one of my favourite Enid Blyton stories, if I'm honest. I remember really liking it when I read it years ago, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I have the famous five stories that I've read recently.
I was surprised because I was a fan of Barney and co when I was younger and I was pleased when Barney found his dad and this if I remember correctly is the first one of the 'R' mysteries that featured his new home lifestyle and family and I remember that I really enjoyed the wintery storyline involving skating and tobogganing.This time, however I found it a bit disappointing, especially as I was hoping Barney's cousin would turn out to be a girl just to even things out a bit. But that wasn't the case. It was a boy who wasn't even in it anyway.
So, Diana is the only girl, and there are 3 lads! That is too boyish, and Snubby is rather annoying, in my opinion, and so is Loony the dog. I much prefer Timmy from the F. Fives.
Maybe I'll give Five Get Into A Fix another try and stick with the wintery theme.
Oh, and the book description for this is TOTALLY wrong, characters and everything!
I was surprised because I was a fan of Barney and co when I was younger and I was pleased when Barney found his dad and this if I remember correctly is the first one of the 'R' mysteries that featured his new home lifestyle and family and I remember that I really enjoyed the wintery storyline involving skating and tobogganing.This time, however I found it a bit disappointing, especially as I was hoping Barney's cousin would turn out to be a girl just to even things out a bit. But that wasn't the case. It was a boy who wasn't even in it anyway.
So, Diana is the only girl, and there are 3 lads! That is too boyish, and Snubby is rather annoying, in my opinion, and so is Loony the dog. I much prefer Timmy from the F. Fives.
Maybe I'll give Five Get Into A Fix another try and stick with the wintery theme.
Oh, and the book description for this is TOTALLY wrong, characters and everything!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2018
I don't remember much about the content anymore, but I know that books of Enid Blyton were on my bookshelf at my childhood. It was mostly mystery that was captivating and round characters (fully developed). I remember that the ending was always something that I didn't see coming and that is what I liked - this unexpected plot twist and how everything fits together. I'm sure that this and other books from the collection would be interesting to re-read or read for a bit older people. It doesn't have to be only children's literature to enjoy a fine writing.
February 25, 2021
Pretty uneventful novel, lacking in agency or any real mystery. If you like reading about entitled schoolchildren going tobogganing, then this is the book for you, if not I'd skip this entry. The only real intrigue in the first 40% of the novel was a monkey knocking on the door of a cupboard. Even when the central 'conflict' does get started, there is very little mystery to it, Snubby catches the smugglers very quickly and so there is no room for Blyton's characteristic weaving of intrigue and adventure.
This series is supposed to be 'The Barney Mysteries' and yet Barney does nothing in this book and has little to no characterisation. Has living with his father striped him of any individuality? I'd say this was the case if not for the fact that the other children are just as bland, with the possible exception of Snubby.
This series is supposed to be 'The Barney Mysteries' and yet Barney does nothing in this book and has little to no characterisation. Has living with his father striped him of any individuality? I'd say this was the case if not for the fact that the other children are just as bland, with the possible exception of Snubby.
September 3, 2020
Cerita menarik dgn latar tempat rumah terpencil yg dikelilingi salju musim dingin. Cuma kurang suka sama penyelesaian misterinya. Entah kenapa lebih seneng kalo anak-anak bisa mecahin permasalahan dan meringkus penjahatnya lalu dibantu polisi daripada bekerja sama sama polisinya. Kemudian karena penyelesaiannya kurang jadinya menurut saya tidak seru daripada buku-buku sebelumnya yg misteri dan pemecahannya sangat satisfying. Ikut seneng Barney akhirnya ketemu sama keluarganya.
May 7, 2019
I wanted to read this book 3.5 decades ago; however, the Barney series was not available at the bookstore in my town. Neither was it available in the school or local libraries. I happened to see an old copy by chance at a book fair and bought it.
Even though I read this book 35 years too late, I enjoyed it immensely.
Even though I read this book 35 years too late, I enjoyed it immensely.
February 25, 2021
Loved this as a child, the mysterious setting in the middle of nowhere, cut off by snow, no adult supervision apart from a housekeeper, no electric or phone, and door knockers seemingly knocking by themselves.
However the actual mystery is quite light, with a simple explanation, and tied up very neatly. Not one of Blyton's best but childten will still love it!
However the actual mystery is quite light, with a simple explanation, and tied up very neatly. Not one of Blyton's best but childten will still love it!
March 12, 2019
Classic Blyton!
What a wonderful mystery for children (and adults revisiting their childhood!) Classic Blyton mystery with plenty of humor, thrilling moments, adventure and fun! Loved it as a child, re-discovering the joy as an adult!
What a wonderful mystery for children (and adults revisiting their childhood!) Classic Blyton mystery with plenty of humor, thrilling moments, adventure and fun! Loved it as a child, re-discovering the joy as an adult!
June 3, 2017
Love these books- exciting and charming. Bring back memories of childhood. A really good story and thoroughly enjoyable
November 17, 2018
I read this book when I was 8or 9 years old. Actually it was the first English fiction I ever read. I remember enjoying it thoroughly.
January 5, 2019
Reading this was a nice throwback to my childhood when I would literally devour Enid Blyton's work!
June 1, 2020
Enjoyable, but filled with all the usual Blyton plot devices, so nothing extra special for a Blyton fan.
August 16, 2020
Tidak seseru buku sebelumnya. Ending terasa menggantung karena penjahatnya belum tertangkap dan ada beberapa plot hole, imho😔
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 15, 2022Read when I was a kid :)
April 22, 2024
A excellent adventure for Barney and his friends!
January 16, 2025
First time I’ve read a book from this series.
Classic, the description of food is as amazing as ever and the mystery is magical.
Nobody writes children’s books like Enid.
Classic, the description of food is as amazing as ever and the mystery is magical.
Nobody writes children’s books like Enid.
October 5, 2025
A childhood classic. Read a Sinhala translation back when I was a kid and loved it!
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October 15, 2025Que recuerdos de juventud...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews