Revisions to later editions
To address criticisms levelled at Blyton's work some later editions have been altered to reflect more liberal attitudes towards issues such as race, gender and the treatment of children; modern reprints of the Noddy series substitute teddy bears or goblins for
golliwogs, for instance.
[151] The golliwogs who steal Noddy's car and dump him naked in the Dark Wood in
Here Comes Noddy Again are replaced by goblins in the 1986 revision, who strip Noddy only of his shoes and hat and return at the end of the story to apologise.
[152]
The Faraway Tree's Dame Slap, who made regular use of corporal punishment, was changed to Dame Snap who no longer did so, and the names of Dick and Fanny in the same series were changed to Rick and Frannie.
[153] Characters in the
Malory Towers and
St. Clare's series are no longer
spanked or threatened with a spanking, but are instead scolded. References to George's short hair making her look like a boy were removed in revisions to
Five on a Hike Together, reflecting the idea that girls need not have long hair to be considered feminine or normal.
[154] Anne of
The Famous Five stating that boys cannot wear pretty dresses or like girl's dolls was removed.
[155] In
The Adventurous Four, the names of the young twin girls were changed from Jill and Mary to Pippa and Zoe.
[156]
In 2010
Hodder, the publisher of the Famous Five series, announced its intention to update the language used in the books, of which it sold more than half a million copies a year. The changes, which Hodder described as "subtle", mainly affect the dialogue rather than the narrative. For instance, "school tunic" becomes "uniform", "mother and father", and "mother and daddy" (this latter one used by young female characters and deemed sexist) becomes "mum and dad",
[157] "bathing" is replaced by "swimming", and "jersey" by "jumper".
[153] Some commentators see the changes as necessary to encourage modern readers,
[157] whereas others regard them as unnecessary and patronising.
[153] In 2016 Hodder's parent company
Hachette announced that they would abandon the revisions as, based on feedback, they had not been a success.
[158]