Hodder Headline is releasing "Famous Five" contemporary editions this August in response to research, which showed the "Famous Five" books were strongly endorsed by parents, but needed to be adapted for today's young readers.

Editing has been kept to a minimum to ensure the narrative of Enid Blyton's mystery adventures remains intact and Hodder will continue to publish the classic editions, with unchanged text and featuring artist Eileen Soper's original illustrations. Inside, changes to the text have been carried out to make the books timeless, rather than 21st century with dated expressions and language.

"Mums told us that they wanted their children to enjoy Blyton as much as they had, but they felt that the language and look of the books were no longer relevant," says Esra Cafer, vice president of brand management and marketing at Chorion. "We put that into research and children said the same thing. Blyton did what she did to get kids to read, so we feel duty-bound to take that legacy on board. So, we've focused on revising the dialog to ensure the characters are ones that today's children can relate to—just as readers were able to in Blyton's day."