The child that books built

Children's books - from Narnia toThe Hobbit- are celebrated in this enlightened examination of the joys of childhood reading.Fairy tales andWhere the Wild Things Are,The Lord of the Ringsand the Narnia books,Little House on the Prairieand The Earthsea Trilogy. What would you find if you went back and re-read your favourite books from childhood? Francis Spufford discovers both delight and sadness, in this widely celebrated memoir of a boy who retreats into books, faced with a tragedy in his family.'A beautifully composed and wholly original memoir, sounding the classics of children's literature.' David Sexton,Evening Standard'Exuberant and serious, funny and sophisticated, this memoir of reading and childhood is a delight.' Andrea Ashworth