This was a gift from someone who knows I loved Blyton's books when I was a child. It's typical of her stories but naturally has a dated style of writing, in fact, her style was criticized even in her day. One thing that I found annoying, was that the currency of 1937 when the book was written, was updated to modern currency. The children had 35 pence to spend on a gift for their mother. This would have corresponded to 7 shillings in old currency, a respectable amount for a gift, but the equivalent 35 pence is measly, capable of buying very little, especially in an antique shop. ( )