Author(s): Chloe Hooper

Biography and Memoir

Already acclaimed as a modern classic, Chloe Hooper's memoir of talking with her children about mortality is beautifully illustrated by the award-winning Anna Walker; this hardback, colour gift edition creates an irresistible object out of this magical work.

By the bestselling author of The Tall Man and The Arsonist.

The stories we loved as children helped make us – can they also help save us?    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? Can real life lessons be smuggled into a bedtime tale? 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 uncertainty, here is a profound and moving exploration of the dark and light of storytelling.

 ‘I was spellbound’ Paul Kelly

‘Exquisite’ Guardian 

‘I loved everything about Bedtime Story’ Sofie Laguna