Kidlit radio and news #3

by | posted in: 2. Illustrators and Authors | 6

The coming week’s bookish radio delights to listen out for include:

  • Alan Garner’s Elidor, episode 2 – 9.00 and 16.00 on Radio 4 Extra, Sunday 22 January


  • The Jungle Book, episode 4 – 9.30 and 16.30 on Radio 4 Extra, Sunday 22 January


  • Vickram Seth on Desert Island Disks – 11.15 on Radio 4, Sunday 22 January


  • Frank Cottrell Boyce chooses his Picks of the Week – 18.15 on Radio 4, Sunday 22 January


  • A Last Excuse Me Dance, with Shirley Hughes – 11.30 on Radio 4, Tuesday 24 January, also 15.30 Saturday 28 January
    “The ever-popular children’s writer and illustrator Shirley Hughes recently published a magazine article recalling the dances she attended as a teenager growing up in wartime West Kirby. Readers responded with their own memories of similar dances in other parts of the country. Amongst them was the writer and journalist, Philip Purser. But he didn’t just remember similar dances: he remembered exactly the same ones.

    Now, over seventy years after Shirley and Philip danced the foxtrot and joined in a Paul Jones or an Excuse-Me dance together, they are reunited for the very first time, not only in recalling these Saturday night dances but with the promise of taking to the dance-floor one last time.”


  • Front Row – Mark Lawson interviews with the winner of the Costa Book of the Year – 19.15 on Radio 4, Wednesday 25 January



    • For me the most interesting children’s literature related conversation this week was around this news – David Cameron (the British PM) visiting a London school and telling parents they ought to be reading nightly to their children. Sounds good, but against a backdrop of library cuts and increasing reliance on private sponsorship and volunteers to get books into schools, this isn’t actually such a good news story. @mefinx responded with this article, and Michael Rosen also wrote a great riposte.

    There were also two fun videos doing the rounds in cyberspace. If you missed them, here they are:

    Thanks to Alex at Bookshelf for bringing this one to my attention.

    And then, if you ever wondered what happens in a bookshop after dark…

    6 Responses

    1. Myra from GatheringBooks
      | Reply

      Hi Zoe! I’ve already discovered The Joy of Books – but it’s my first time to see “Organizing the Bookcase” – i’ve shared it in my FB page – so fun! I can never remember where some of my books are in my various bookcases – I have a vague recollection that it’s somewhere in the second shelf, bottom corner – but I know that I NEED to develop some kind of filing system. 🙂

      I’m envious of all the kidlit radio fun – would you know if they happen to be available internationally?

    3. Zoe
      | Reply

      Hi Myra, absolutely – the BBC radio stuff is all available to listen to again online for free worldwide. Some of it is only available for one week after broadcast tho, rather than permanently.

      I’m not sure about having my bookcase too well organised. Wouldn’t browsing be a lot less fun if you knew exactly which book was where?

    4. Elli
      | Reply

      I’ve just forwarded the link to the Shirley Hughes programme to my Mum, who was born in New Zealand but spent the latter part of her childhood in post-war West Kirby.
      Elli recently posted..Big Bad Hairbrush

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