Down The Rabbit Hole

Grab your A to Z, mind the gap, and watch out for dragons guarding the city gates. On today's episode of Down the Rabbit Hole we're taking a trip to the edge of reality, and exploring stories that reimagine London by blending fantasy and history together. And in this sprawling city of myth and legend, who's to say where the boundary is?

Caroline, Charlie, Hannah and Sam gather round the tree for our annual Christmas spectacular! An extra-special bumper episode packed with holiday treats and book recommendations, as well as three very special authors and illustrators who've popped down the chimney to share some particularly festive tales. Plus, we chat about some of our favourite books from 2022.

Hi listeners! There's no new episode this week as we're taking a bit of a mid-season break. But stay tuned - in two weeks we'll be back with plenty more brilliant children's book chat to get you geared up for the festive season.

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To celebrate Independent Bookshop Week in the UK we're bringing you a special extra episode recorded live at Round Table Books in Brixton,  featuring the brilliant YA author Namina Forna in conversation with guest host Stacey Thomas - book reviewer at Bad Form Review and judge on The Diverse Book Awards longlist. Join Namina as she discusses her latest YA book The Merciless Ones published by Usborne, how it tackles issues such as colourism and Black female power, and the importance of community spaces like bookshops to her creativity.

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This episode was produced by Charlie Morris.

Hark, listenerfolk! Gather round the campfire, or the wireless, and listen carefully to Ye Olde Podcaste, which this week brings you exciting tales of stories set in other times.

Sam and Hannah are joined on this 100% historically accurate quest by magnificent authors Emma Carroll and Michelle Paver, who have plenty to share with us about the thrills and fascinations of writing and reading historical fiction. Find out when we’d most like to be stranded in time, why fantasy and history are closer than you think, and, most chillingly of all, why 2019 counts as ‘historical’.

Put on your best frocks and party hats because you’re invited to Down the Rabbit Hole’s 100th birthday!

To mark this special occasion, hosts Caroline and Charlie are joined by guests of honour, author Katherine Webber and Down the Rabbit Hole alumna, Imogen Russell-Williams, for an episode all about parties in children’s and YA stories. From The Magic Faraway Tree’s Land of Birthdays to Wonderland’s Mad Tea-Party, we share some of our favourite literary celebrations and even have a go at hosting our own, taking inspiration for the best party outfits, venues, music, food, decorations and guests from the world of children’s books.

The world of children’s literature is brimming with creatures great and small...and magic. This week Charlie and Sam are joined by March's Waterstones Children's Book of the Month author of The Last Firefox, Lee Newbery, to chat all about the animal companions that bring their powers to enrich (or sometimes upset) the lives of children in books. From Narnia to Animorphs, we dissect what makes an animal magic, and what unique spins we can put to tales of firey fox tails, mythical beings, and even a whole new take on unicorns.

If you had to take on the world, what characters from children’s literature would you want by your side? A magician? A talking animal? A detective? A tech genius? This week, Hannah and Caroline are joined by Piers Torday and Daisy May Johnson to assemble their own teams of characters from children’s books! But who has the most well-rounded squad?

Avast, me hearties! Climb aboard ship as we set sail for adventure on this week's show with an episode all about timeless stories of pirates and smugglers.

Scour the cupboards, stock the fridge, and get your marmalade sandwiches ready as we talk all about the mouthwatering delights of FOOD in children's literature! What do we remember eating in books when we were younger? Are midnight feasts all they're cracked up to be? And why doesn't real life have as many picnics in as we want it to?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! We kick off our brand new season of weekly episodes with a dreamy chat about our favourite book crushes. Who did we fancy in books growing up? How do we feel about those crushes now, as adults? Is it okay to fancy Aslan? Why is The Secret Garden so sexy? And how do today's children's books broach the subjects of love and yearning differently to the classics?

Prick up your bunny ears, listeners - your favourite podcast about children's books is back!

From Tuesday 15th of February we're launching a new season - you'll be able to hear a brand new episode of Down the Rabbit Hole every week!

Stay tuned to this feed for fun conversations with special guests about the best food in kids' books, surviving Young Adult dystopias, crushing on book characters, and much more!

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It's the most wonderful time of the year! Your Down the Rabbit Hole presenters have huddled around Hannah's Christmas tree to share a sleigh full of our favourite festive reads with you. So grab some mulled wine and mince pies, and join us! We talk about our most nostalgic reads we remember from our own childhoods, and why Christmas is the perfect time to reconnect with who we were as a child. We unearth some of the best modern Christmas books out this year and last, as well as looking back on the greatest hits of 2021, sharing some of our favourite books from the year gone by - and the ones we've saved up to read over the holidays. Plus, we discover the secret to a perfect Christmas book.

Foil. The secret is foil. And possibly a really cosy murder, too.

Invite us into your ears this Halloween to hear us sink our teeth into one of the spookiest characters in children's books - vampires! The fangs come out as Hannah and Sam talk with special guests Amy McCaw and Harriet Muncaster about their favourite bloodsucking heroes and villains, what makes a good vampire, and why we seem to be seeing more vampires in books for young readers than ever before.

In honour of the start of Black History Month in the UK, Charlie passes the mic to guest host Aimée Felone, Managing Director of independent children's publisher Knights Of, who is joined by Clare Weze, E. L. Norry, Chanté Timothy and Camilla Ru, four of the contributors to children's anthology Happy Here, a book which champions joy and celebrates the work of Black British authors and illustrators. Down the Rabbit Hole joins them for a candid conversation and a look behind the scenes at the aims and inspiration of the book - copies of which will be delivered to every school in the UK in partnership with Booktrust and CLPE. Plus, we all recommend a book that's been making us happy this month, and our guests share their hopes for the future of publishing, and what legacy they would like to leave with their work.

You can buy books mentioned in today's show from our new shelf on Bookshop.org - https://bookshop.org/shop/downtherabbithole

Welcome first-timers and seasoned listeners alike! Today we are talking all about the wonder of debuts in children's literature, and finding out what's so special about an author's first piece of published work. Caroline Carpenter and Sam Sedgman are joined by two very special guests: Struan Murray, author of Orphans of the Tide, and his editor at Puffin, Ben Horslen. Struan and Ben join us fresh from winning this year's Branford Boase Award, which honours the author and editor of a debut title in children's fiction.

Pack your bags and climb aboard this very special bonus edition of Down the Rabbit Hole all about travelling the world by book. Sam Sedgman is joined by special guests Rumena Aktar and Katherine Woodfine (yes, she's back!) to share our favourite children's stories set in other countries, and discuss the joys and perils of writing and reading books set in foreign countries. Plus, we share which books are making us happy.

In today's episode, presenters Hannah Love and Caroline Carpenter are joined by author Elle McNicoll and Harry Woodgate to discuss the presentation of grief in children's books, and why children's books can be a perfect refuge in difficult time.

Listen up! Today's show is all about the magic of audiobooks.

Sam Sedgman and Caroline Carpenter are joined by two special guests: Laura Marlow, an Editor in Audio at Penguin, and Jot Davies, an award-winning audiobook actor and voice artist. Together they share memories of their favourite childhood books on tape, discuss where the modern audiobook industry is headed, and recommend some new modern favourites for listeners to try out. Plus, Caroline listens to her very first audiobook - and we share some of the books that are making us happy this month.

Charlie Morris and Hannah Love celebrate the start of Pride month by exploring the rainbow of recent children's books that put LGBTQ+ families and youth at the heart of the story. 

Joining us on our parade of must-read books are Jodie Lancet-Grant: debut picture book author of The Pirate Mums, L.D. Lapinski: author of magical middle grade adventure series The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, and Benjamin Dean, author of Waterstones’ Children’s Book of the Month Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow. 

From lonely mermen to misunderstood monsters, to two daddies and a road trip of remembrance, we talk about why LGBTQ+ representation in books matters to us and why allowing Queer kids to go on all sorts of adventures means we can help young readers find themselves and their families along the way. Plus, we all share a book that's been making us happy this month.

Caroline Carpenter and Charlie Morris celebrate Earth Day by reaching for their binoculars and exploring the thriving world of children's books about nature and the environment. Joining us on our ramble through the library shelves are Lauren James: YA author and founder of the Climate Fiction Writers' League, and Dr Jess French: qualified vet, TV presenter and non-fiction author of children's books. After airing our shared trauma of The Animals of Farthing Wood, we discuss beloved encyclopaedias, terrifying dystopias, and reflect on some more positive visions of the planet's future. Plus, we all share a book that's been making us happy this month.

Hannah Love and Sam Sedgman are joined by authors Steven Lenton and Michelle Harrison to tackle the greatest question of our lifetime: which are better, cats or dogs? Hear the fur fly as we share some of our favourite canines and felines from children's literature past and present, debating which is funnier, cuter, more adventurous and more loyal. Plus, we each share a book that's making us happy this month.

New presenters Sam, Caroline, Charlie and Hannah offer some alternatives to recommend instead of the same old dependable children’s classics, with some of our favourite picks in different genres from the last 20 years. Plus, we each share a book that’s making us happy this month, and find time to address some of the most pressing questions in children’s literature: "were Goosebumps actually scary?" and "exactly how many Animorphs books were there?".