The sixth title in Enid Blyton's The Noddy Library, a series of beginning-reader chapter-books about the adventures of a little wooden toy with a nodding head, Noddy Goes to School follows its hero as he experiences the satisfaction and chagrin of being part of a class. When Noddy's head gets too big for his little blue hat, his good friend Big Ears decides that he must go to school, where he will learn that he isn't nearly as clever as he thinks. Noddy does the best he can, but although he is greatly improved by the time of the school concert, he knows he won't win any prizes. Or will he...?

As mentioned in my review of Well Done Noddy!, the fifth book in this series, I understand that there is some controversy attached to these books, due to the inclusion of black-faced wooden dolls - called golliwogs - in the original editions. My copies were printed in 1996 however, and must be revised editions, as there were no golliwogs. But despite my relief that today's young readers will not be subjected to any egregiously racists themes, I would still hesitate to recommend this series to any child of my acquaintance, as I find them quite mawkish. ( )