We've only gone and snagged the fantastic, prolific, and very wonderful Helen Peters for the podcast - and it's her turn in the hotseat today! We were charmed to take a stroll through the Storyshaped life of an author described as 'one of our finest modern children's storytellers' by Waterstones (who, to be fair, know their stuff), and we learned all about how Helen's childhood was shaped as much by the farm she grew up on as it was by the stories she surrounded herself with. These stories not only shaped her, but they shaped her brilliant creative output, too. Come on - pull yer wellies on and let's get going.

Books mentioned on this week's episode include Helen's own:

Friends and Traitors

Anna at War

Evie's Ghost

The Jasmine Green series

The Secret Henhouse Theatre trilogy

Find Helen at: helenpetersbooks.com

And the stories that shaped her include:

Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne, illustrations by E.H. Shepard

The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

Tarka the Otter, by Henry Williamson

The picturebooks of Molly Brett

Brambly Hedge, by Jill Barklem

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

What Katy Did, by Susan Coolidge

Heidi, by Johanna Spyri

Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild

Curtains Up, by Noel Streatfeild

The Growing Summer, by Noel Streafeild

The Famous Five series, by Enid Blyton

The Secret Seven series, by Enid Blyton

The St Clare's series, by Enid Blyton

Six Cousins at Mistletoe Farm, by Enid Blyton

The Railway Children, by E. Nesbit

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Casson Family series, by Hilary McKay

The Exiles, by Hilary McKay

Millions, by Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Framed, by Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Holes, by Louis Sachar

Liar & Spy, by Rebecca Stead

The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

Cue for Treason, by Geoffrey Trease

King of Shadows, by Susan Cooper

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

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