Bedtime Story

“An exquisite work in which her prodigious talent for getting to the true heart of a story is turned inwards. With mood-perfect illustrations.”

Guardian

When Chloe Hooper and her partner have to find a way to break bad news to their two young sons, by instinct she turns to the bookshelf. Is there a perfect book to prepare children for adversity? Is it possible for our words to spin straw into gold?

Hooper embarks on a quest to find what practical lessons children’s literature – with its innocent orphans and evil adults, magic, monsters and anthropomorphic animals – can teach about grief and resilience in real life. From the Brothers Grimm to Frances Hodgson Burnett and Tolkien and Dahl – all of whom suffered childhood bereavements – she follows the breadcrumbs of the world’s favourite authors, searching for the deep wisdom in their books and lives.

Both memoir and manual, Bedtime Story is stunningly illustrated by the award-winning Anna Walker. In an age of worldwide chaos, here is a rich and moving exploration of the transformative power of storytelling.

Reviews

“A glorious journey for any reader to take. A privilege, really.”

Herald-Sun

“Everything you’d ever want in a bedtime story – heroes and heroines, puzzles and dangers, invisible forces, birds, trees, beast, poetry, sadness and joy. Stories within stories. I was spellbound from the start.”

Paul Kelly, author of How to Make Gravy