The Folk of the Faraway Tree characters

Also known as Jo

Appears from the start

The eldest of the three children at the cottage by the Enchanted Wood. Well used to the Faraway Tree by now, Joe helps show a difficult new house-guest the ropes and keeps a level head when the lands above the tree turn tricky.

Also known as Bessie

Appears from the start

One of the two sisters, warm and sensible, who welcomes the visiting girl even when her airs make her hard to like. She shares the climbs up the tree and the adventures in its changing lands.

Also known as Fanny

Appears from the start

The youngest of the three children, quick to enjoy the magic of the tree and just as quick to lose patience with a boastful guest. She joins every visit to the folk of the trunk and the lands at the top.

Also known as Curious Connie

Appears from the start

A girl who comes to stay with the children - prim, sure she is always right, and scornful of any talk about a magic tree. Her conceit makes her an awkward guest at first, but the tree folk and the strange lands above steadily take her down a peg, and by the end she is a good deal humbler and kinder.

First appears in chapter 3

The golden-haired elf of the Faraway Tree, gentle and helpful as ever. She greets the children and their sceptical guest, offers her treats, and keeps an eye on which land is currently sitting at the top of the tree.

First appears in chapter 3

The good-natured wanderer hung with clattering saucepans and kettles, whose poor hearing turns plain remarks into comic muddles. He remains a staunch friend of the children on their journeys up and above the tree.

First appears in chapter 4

The round-faced little fellow near the top of the Faraway Tree, keeper of the slippery-slip that whirls riders down the trunk on a cushion. He hosts the children and their guest to tea and helps steer them through the tree's ever-changing lands.

First appears in chapter 13

The stern mistress of a strict school in one of the lands that visits the top of the tree. She deals out slaps to any pupil she judges naughty, and the children fall into her clutches when the land above turns out to be hers; getting free of her school is one of the book's tighter escapes.