Francis Spufford relives both delight and sadness in this widely celebrated memoir of a boy who retreats into books when faced with a tragedy in his family.
Children’s books are celebrated in his enlightened examination of the joys of childhood reading, from fairy tales to Where the Wild Things Are, The Lord of the Rings to the Narnia books, Little House on the Prairie to The Earthsea Trilogy, and many more beloved favourites.
‘Exuberant and serious, funny and sophisticated, this memoir of reading and childhood is a delight.’ Andrea Ashworth
Laura, Louisa and Me
The Child that Books Built is the title of a memoir by Francis Spufford which explores the impact of books read in childhood by interspersing an account of Spufford’s own reading with excursions...
Read moreMagic Casements
Francis Spufford’s The Child that Books Built is a short book that seems long, expansive, excursive. Of course – it cites a host of other books, from Where the Wild Things Are through The Little...
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