Noddy Books In Order

Publication Order of Noddy Books

About Noddy:

If you have a young child at home who watches PBS Kids, then you’ve probably seen Noddy driving his friends around Toytown in his little red and yellow taxi at some point while you were trying frantically to clean the house and keep your toddler entertained at the same time. But have you ever taken a few moments to get to know the character? Behind the cute, innocent face of Noddy, the taxi-driver, there is a story written by children’s author Enid Blyton that you have probably never encountered before. Long before Noddy reached the television screen, he was mostly well known from a popular children’s book series.

Noddy is a basic protagonist, known as a kind and honest boy. Like many misunderstood characters, Noddy often runs into trouble because of things he does not understand or because his enemies are playing tricks on him.

Noddy was first introduced to the world in 1949, when Blyton’s first book in the series, Noddy Goes to Toyland, surfaced. In fact, there have been so many books about Noddy over the decades that no one really knows how many were written by Blyton herself. Still a long-running television show on PBS (not to mention an entertaining computer game), Noddy has given laughs to many children over the span of half a century.

What are the Noddy books all about?

The story behind the character himself is an interesting one to tell. Noddy, much like Disney’s Pinocchio, is a little wooden boy who was created by a woodcarver in a toy shop. The man who created him also made a lion that scared Noddy, so he choose to run away. This is where the other characters from the plot start to come into play.

While running away from his previous life with no money, clothes, or home to his name, Noddy meets Big Ears the brownie (a brownie is a mythical creature resembling a hobgoblin). Big Ears decides to help Noddy, and determines that he is a toy, not a human. As a toy, Big Ears tells him, Noddy must go live in Toyland. There he will have a home and clothes.

But when Noddy arrives in Toyland, a struggle ensues when the citizens of Toyland are not sure whether or not he really is a toy. And, even if he is, is he a kind toy? At this point in the story, Noddy is put “on trial”, and the townspeople must determine his fate.

The second book, Hurrah for Little Noddy, which came out in 1950, presents Noddy with his famous occupation as a taxi driver when he helps to solve a mystery that goes on in Toytown. In the beginning of the book, Noddy gets his first job, but realizes that all of the cars in the garage that he works in are actually stolen vehicles. Horrified, he and Big Ears work together to find a solution to the scandal, and these events lead to a happy ending and Noddy’s receipt of the taxi cab that forms his new job.

Who are Noddy’s friends?

Noddy is helped along his path in his many adventures by several different townspeople who reside in Toyland. Bumpy Dog is the most well known, next to Big Ears. Bumpy Dog is Noddy’s pet and accompanies Noddy wherever he goes.

Tessie Bear and the Tubby Bears are also close friends of Noddy. Tessie Bear has a big heart, and is a gold bear. She is the epitome of love, kindness, and care, symbolizing the “angel” that Noddy looks up to. The Tubby Bears are Noddy’s neighbors, and also represent parent-figures in the show. They treat Noddy like a son, and he refers to them as Mr. Tubby Bear and Mrs. Tubby Bear.

Who are Noddy’s enemies?

While Noddy is a kind-hearted, innocent individual, he still runs into problems with several of the locals. The most well-known enemies of Noddy are Sly and Gobbo, who are constantly playing mean tricks on Noddy and his friends. Another popular antagonist is Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear’s son Tubby, who Noddy sometimes calls Master Tubby. Tubby is rude, mean, and is often in and out of trouble. At one point, Tubby runs away from home and Noddy plays a hand in bringing him back with presents for his parents to serve as an apology.

Noddy also has a complicated relationship with the town policeman, PC Plod. Plod scolds Noddy in many of the earlier books because Noddy is not yet sure how Toyland works. Eventually, however, the two become close friends.

Who is Enid Blyton?

Blyton is a famous children’s book author from East Dulwich, England. Born in 1897, she passed away in November of 1968 at the age of 71. Blyton, most famous in England, sold more than 600 million copies of her books worldwide and is best known for the Noddy series. Most of her published works are now highly collectable, especially in France and India. Blyton was described as a “workaholic, an achievement junkie, and an extremely canny businesswomen” by Helena Bonham Carter, who portrayed the author in the 2009 BBC film Enid. Blyton was also well-known for The Famous Five and The Secret Seven series.

Her granddaughter Sophie Smallwood announced in 2008 that she would be writing a new Noddy book that would celebrate his 60th anniversary as a famous character. The book was pre-titled Noddy and the Farmyard Muddle and was to be illustrated by Robert Tyndall, the original illustrator of the Noddy books. This newest release, however, never publically surfaced.

What’s next for Noddy?

Noddy, who returned to television in September of 2003 and January of 2004 for a new series, was purchased from Chorion (a major media company positioned in London) by DreamWorks Classics in 2012, and it isn’t exactly a secret that shows don’t get picked up by DreamWorks to die out in the darkness. No, it seems Noddy has nothing to fear when it comes to the spotlight.

In fact, according to Spout Online, a famous children’s television channel, Make Way for Noddy airs on weekdays at 5:15 p.m. and weekends at 9 a.m. Noddy has also been featured in the UK as a stage production, and reached CG animation in 2009 in the new show, Noddy in Toyland.

It seems that no matter how old Noddy gets, his audience still remains young and ready to learn more about Toyland, Toytown, and Noddy’s friends and enemies. It is clear the Blyton created a character that has, and will continue, to inspire thousands.