The Enchanted Wood characters

Also known as Jo

Appears from the start

The eldest of the three children who move with their family to a cottage in the country. Practical and protective, Joe is usually the first to want to explore, and it is largely his curiosity that draws the children into the Enchanted Wood and up the Faraway Tree. He tends to lead the way and looks out for his two younger sisters on every adventure.

Also known as Bessie

Appears from the start

One of the two sisters newly arrived at the country cottage. Warm, sensible and fond of making things in the kitchen (she has a go at toffee early on), Beth shares every climb up the Faraway Tree and every visit to the odd lands at its top.

Also known as Fanny

Appears from the start

The youngest of the three children. Eager and easily delighted, Frannie throws herself into the discovery of the wood and the magical folk who live in the great tree, though she can be the quickest to take fright when a land at the top turns dangerous.

First appears in chapter 4

A cheerful little man with a broad, round face like a full moon, who lives in a curved room near the top of the Faraway Tree. His home holds the famous slippery-slip, a slide that spirals down the inside of the trunk; riders take a cushion, sit at the top and whizz to the bottom. Moon-Face becomes the children's firm friend and their guide to the tree's ever-changing lands, and is known for his Google Buns.

First appears in chapter 4

A dainty elf with long, shining golden hair who lives in the trunk of the Faraway Tree. Kind and quick to help, she befriends the children and shares her treats, including Pop Biscuits with a surprising honeyed middle. Silky knows the tree's folk and its dangers, and often warns the children when the land at the top is not a safe one to visit.

First appears in chapter 4

A small, hot-tempered pixie whose house sits partway up the tree. He cannot bear anyone peeping through his little window, and when climbers do, he flings ink or water out at them. More comic nuisance than real danger, he is one of the odd neighbours the children learn to pass with care.

First appears in chapter 4

An industrious old woman who lives in the Faraway Tree and spends her days washing great piles of clothes. She tips her dirty water straight down the trunk, so anyone climbing past has to listen for the gush and dodge the soapy cascade. Her wash-water is a running hazard of every journey up the tree.

First appears in chapter 14

A wandering, good-natured fellow hung all over with saucepans, kettles and pans that clank as he walks. Hard of hearing beneath all his ironmongery, he mishears almost everything said to him, to comic effect. An old friend of the tree folk, he joins the children on some of their adventures.