Dear old Kirrin

When I was a very small child I learned to read, I was reading books well before I started school and when I arrived there, I was asked to help the other children learn.
When I was five a kind older child gave me a Famous Five book. I had the knight paperback series and by the time I was 9 had all 21 and read them over and over again. I can still tell you now the titles in order and even the colour of the spine for each book in the series. I also read hundreds of other authors and each has a special place in my heart.
When I started to collect books I longed to own the original Hodder and Staughton 'Five' books with illustrations by Eileen Soper that capture the time they were written, yet with the innocence Enid saw a childs world, with no war or restrictions. This is the first of the series when we are introduced to the Five and the wonderful Kirrin Island.
I still read and still have the passion for new books, indeed i buy at least 1 a week and have a house full, but I don't think the excitement of a new book ever quite matches that of the 6 year old me getting a new 'five' book to devour.