Books Are Back

Books Are Back episodes:

• 08.05.2021

  The Phantom Tolbooth

  Norton Juster's Phantom Tolbooth is the gateway to a fantastical land filled with strange characters who provide the young hero with food for thought as he tries to  rescue the Princesses Rhyme and Reason.

  
• 07.22.2021

  The Family From One End Street

  Eve Garnett's classic stories about The Family from One End Street broke new ground when they were published in 1937. In this episode you can listen to us discuss the strong contrast with modern parenting and hear Catherine's horror as...

  
• 07.08.2021

  Murder Most Unladylike

  Ursula and Catherine reverse their usual roles for a discussion of Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens, a stone cold classic in the modern children's murder mystery genre.

  
• 06.24.2021

  A Necklace of Raindrops

  Joan Aiken's stories remind Ursula and Catherine of fairy tales, and they also look closely at Jan Pienkowski's incredible illustrations.

  
• 05.27.2021

  The Secret of the Old Clock

  We compare a Nancy Drew book to modern detective stories and solve the mystery of the identity of Carolyn Keene.

  
• 05.13.2021

  The Spy's Guidebook

  Disguises! Secret messages! Tracking the enemy! Ursula, Catherine and their special guest learnt all these and more from this Usborne favourite.

  
• 04.29.2021

  The Sword in the Stone

  T H White's retelling of the Arthurian Legends began here, in the book from which Catherine learnt more about falconry than she ever knew she knew.

  
• 04.15.2021

  Auntie Robbo

  Ann Scott-Moncrieff's novel was originally rejected as "too Scottish and too irresponsible." Neither Catherine nor Ursula let this put them off.

  
• 04.01.2021

  The Magician's Nephew

  The first book in C S Lewis's Narnia Chronicles was a better read for Ursula than it was for Catherine. We discuss why, and also whether it is in fact the first book in the series.

  
• 03.18.2021

  How to Eat Fried Worms

  Ursula and Catherine enjoyed different aspects of Thomas Rockwell's story, which is about exactly what it says on the cover. This episode features discussion on censorship and also gastronomy, obviously.

  
• 03.04.2021

  Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

  Ursula and Catherine discuss sci-fi classic Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien, bemoaning the fact that their copy seems to have the ugliest cover of any edition so far published.

  
• 02.18.2021

  The Ultimate Alphabet

  In episode eight Catherine and Ursula discuss art, anamorphic projection and also   The Ultimate Alphabet by Mike Wilks. Check @BooksAreBack1 on Twitter or @booksarebackpod on Instagram for some pictures to help make sense of this astonishing book

  
• 02.04.2021

  The Swish of the Curtain

  Catherine rakes her recollection for details of a beautiful blue dress while Ursula fills her in on every detail but that one of Pamela Brown's classic about a theatre company founded by seven children.

  
• 01.21.2021

  My Friend Mr Leakey

  In this episode, Catherine discovers that author J.B.S. Haldane was "astonishingly interesting", but can Ursula say the same about his only creation for children, the magician Mr Leakey?

  
• 01.06.2021

  Little House in the Big Woods

  Join Ursula and Catherine as they tackle the episodic style of Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic tales of her childhood, beginning in the Little House in the Big Woods.

  
• 12.23.2020

  A Child's Christmas in Wales

  Normal service is interrupted when Catherine and Ursula feel the need to get into the festive spirit, hurriedly reading Dylan Thomas's classic in time for Christmas.

  
• 12.16.2020

  Help! I am a Prisoner in a Toothpaste Factory.

  Ursula and Catherine are not the only members of the family to have read Help! I am a Prisoner in a Toothpaste Factory by John Antrobus. So this episode features a special guest appearance.

  
• 12.06.2020

  Ordinary Jack

  Ursula and Catherine don't both find the humour in Ordinary Jack by Helen Cresswell. But can mother make daughter laugh by throwing in a couple of modest character voices when reading aloud?

  
• 12.06.2020

  The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

  In their first episode, Ursula and Catherine discuss Hugh Lofting's novel, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. Ursula read it last week. Catherine read it last century.  Luckily, they've both seen the film.