The Child that Books Built

What would you find if you went back and reread all of your favourite books from childhood? Francis Spufford discovers both delight and sadness, in this beautifully written memoir.

The Harry Potter phenomenon has reminded us all of the amazing power of fantasy. Now The Child That Books Built explores the many worlds that reading can take you to, in a way never attempted before.

Fairy tales, Where the Wild Things Are , Lord of the Rings , the Narnia books, Little House on the Prairie , The Earthsea Trilogy . . . Re-reading and re-living these books, and investigating their literary origins and rich histories, Francis Spufford reveals what it was like to be an obsessive reader as a child, and wonders whether we should always indulge our inordinate craving for narrative. As the book unfolds, so too he gradually uncovers his own childhood, and his unique reason for taking refuge in stories - from a world full of unbearable knowledge.