Visit any children's library or bookshop and you'll find a whole range of bright "new" Enid Blyton books. The prolific writer, who died in 1968, was recently voted the UK's favourite-ever author - just ahead of Roald Dahl and JK Rowling (the poll of 2,000 adults relegated Austen and Shakespeare to fourth and fifth position respectively).

The Blyton renaissance includes new covers and new titles - Blyton keeps publishing beyond the grave - and lots of new marketing. The Disney Channel even has a cartoon show, Famous 5: On the Case , that features four mystery-solving cousins who are the offspring of Blyton's adventurous Kirrin children. In the 2008 Disney version, tomboy George has a mixed-race daughter, Jyoti - who is a tomboy known as Jo; mousey Anne grew up to be an art dealer, and is the mother of shopaholic Californian Allie, while Anne's brothers Julian and Dick are the fathers of adventurous Max and techno-boffin Dylan respectively.