This Locklisted special on children's books was recorded in August 2020 and was previously available exclusively to supporters of our Patreon at patreon.com/backlisted.

Join us on a journey through time and space as John, Andy and Nicky discuss the books they loved as children (so actually no pubs were involved or even mentioned on this occasion). The discussion covers the importance of libraries, the Proustian aroma of parquet flooring, the challenges of the display spinner, the significance of the Puffin Club, the utility of book tokens and the joys of early audio books. The books mentioned make for an eclectic mix and include Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner, The Eighteenth Emergency by Betsy Byars, the Hitchhikers series by Douglas Adams, I-Spy books, the epic sweep of Sweet Valley High, Great Northern by Arthur Ransome, The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne, the audiobook of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (as read by Glenda Jackson), the audiobook of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild, The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, comics such as Mandy and Look-in, the sublime Peanuts collections by Charles M. Schulz and last but definitely not least, Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters by Malcolm Hulke.

We so enjoyed making this episode that we recorded a sequel on our favourite teenage reading, which will be shared here soon. Backlisted is entirely funded by the contributions of our Patreons - many thanks to them! If you would like to hear all past episodes of Locklisted and support Backlisted in the process, please sign up as a Locklistener or Master Storyteller at patreon.com/backlisted.

As far as possible, all the books listed below are supplied via the Backlisted shop on bookshop.org and a proportion of the price helps support the podcast.

Books mentioned:

Erich Kästner - Emil and the Detectives
Betsy Byars - The Eighteenth Emergency
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (boxset)
I-Spy Books
Sweet Valley High
Arthur Ransome - Great Northern
A.A. Milne - The House at Pooh Corner
Frances Hodgson Burnett - The Secret Garden (read by Glenda Jackson)
Noel Streatfeild - Ballet Shoes (BBC Classics Audiobook)
Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising
Charles M. Schulz - Peanuts
Malcolm Hulke - Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters