We finally managed to sit down with Sarah Webb, the Queen of Irish Kidlit, on today's episode. Join us for a fun stroll through the ups and downs of her Storyshaped life, from her early days of working in bookselling to the achievements she would go on to claim - a multiply-published, award-winning, best-selling author of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults, as well as an event programmer, an Events Manager, and - full circle! - back to bookselling in the wonderful surrounds of Halfway Up the Stairs specialist children's bookshop in Wicklow.

Find Sarah online at her website: www.sarahwebb.info

Books mentioned in today's episode include Sarah's own:

The Weather Girls

The Little Bee Charmer of Henrietta Street

The Amy Green Series

And the stories which have shaped her include:

When We Were Very Young, by AA Milne

Now We Are Six, by AA Milne

Richard Scarry's Busy Busy World

Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr Seuss

The Elephant and the Bad Baby, by Raymond Briggs and Elfrida Vipont

Looking and Doing, by Leo Hallisey and Donal Byrne

Tiger Flower, by Robert Vavra

ROSC Art Exhibition Catalogues

Bunty, Mandy, and Twinkle - annuals, and weekly comics

Disney Play-Along Records, including Peter Pan, the Jungle Book, Cinderella, and Pinocchio

National Geographic and Readers' Digest magazine

Heidi, by Johanna Spyri

Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by CS Lewis

The work of Eilís Dillon

Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift

Favourite Greek Myths, by LS Hyde

The work of Sinéad de Valera

The Second-Best Children in the World, by Mary Lavin, ill. Edward Ardizzone

The Flight of the Earls, by Walter Macken

The Bookshop on the Quay, by Patricia Lynch

Are You There, God... by Judy Blume

The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald

New Patches for Old, by Christabel Mattingsley

The Lottie Brooks series, by Kate Kirby

The work of Margaret Atwood, Kate Chopin, Marge Piercy, Patricia Scanlan, Marian Keyes

Babies Need Books, by Dorothy Butler, ill. Shirley Hughes

Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson

Alfie, by Shirley Hughes (series)

A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula leGuin

The work of Susan Cooper

The Harry Potter books

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, by John Boyne

Tyger, by SF Said

The work of Frances Hardinge

Catfish Rolling, by Clara Kumagai

Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume

The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett

Writers and Lovers, by Lily King

Heartburn, by Nora Ephron

Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh

Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson

The Far Side, by Gary Larson

Maus, by Art Spiegelman

Love and Rockets, by the Hernandez Brothers

Smile, Guts, and Ghosts, all by Raina Telgemaier

The Drama Club, and the Cartoonists' Club, by Telgemaier and Scott McCloud

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, graphic novel adaptation by Amy de Jongh

Mexi-Kid, by Pedro Martin

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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