The Folk Of The Faraway Tree Views

Books

Maybe you remember my post on the Autumn Ferment Record’s Seasonal Sevens – Autumn release. It was the first contact I had with The Magickal Folk Of The Faraway Tree and I had much praise for their track The Blackthorn Tree which was taken from the long out of print The Mildew Leaf Mini-CDr. Searching the internet for more information about the band I found very little on them besides the release date for a new album called The Soup & The Shilling on Deserted Village and Deadslackstring planned for 2010. And now the waiting time is finally over and I got my copy of the record right infront of me.

For those unfamiliar with the stories, they're set in an enchanted forest in which the magical Faraway Tree grows. Both magical and enormous, the tree's uppermost branches hide houses and a ladder at the top that transports the user to a new land each time it is used, opening up the way for plenty of adventures. It's recommended to start with the previous entry as this does follow on from it, though you can easily jump in and find get up to speed pretty quickly.

The stories take place in an enchanted forest in which a gigantic magical tree - the eponymous Faraway Tree - grows. The tree is so tall that its topmost branches reach into the clouds and it is wide enough to contain small houses carved into its trunk. The forest and the tree are discovered by three children named Jo, Bessie, and Fanny, who move into a house nearby.

When the children climb the Faraway Tree they discover it is inhabited by different magical creatures, including Moon-face, Silky the fairy, The Saucepan Man, Dame Washalot, Mr. Watzisname and the Angry Pixie. They befriend some of these creatures, in particular Moon-face and Silky. At the very top of the tree they discover a ladder which leads them to a magical land. This land is different on each visit, because each place moves on from the top of the tree to make way for a new land. The children are free to come and go, but they must leave before the land moves on or they will be stuck there until the land returns to the Faraway Tree.