Pack your marmalade sandwiches, because this week we're going on a bear hunt - and we're NOT scared.

Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear, and Sophy Henn, writer and illustrator of Where Bear? join Sam on a quest through the rabbit hole's bookshelves to find the best bears in children's fiction. Along the way, we discover why bears are especially good animals to draw in picture books, hear the unexpectedly horrific origin story of the teddy bear, and try to work out why bears are so over-represented in the bookshop menagerie.

In short: "Bears! Why do we like 'em so much?"

Find more about Hannah at her website and on Twitter

Find more about Sophy on Twitter and on Instagram

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This episode was produced by Sam Sedgman.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from ⁠incompetech.com⁠, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

This week we're joined by two brilliant writers to discuss the role feminism has played in Young Adult novels.

Laura Bates, creator of Everyday Sexism and the author of Men Who Hate Women now brings us Sisters of Sword and Shadow, an epic YA fantasy reimagining Arthurian legend with a fearless sisterhood of knights.

And Holly Bourne, bestselling author of Am I Normal Yet? and The Places I've Cried in Public, returns to our bookshelves with You Could Be So Pretty, a gripping dystopian thriller that puts modern beauty standards under the microscope.

Together we talk through the challenges and opportunities YA fiction presents when engaging with feminism, and share some of our favourite recommendations for YA books that are written by and about women.

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This episode was produced by Hannah Love.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from ⁠incompetech.com⁠, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Down the Rabbit Hole is back for a new season! And we begin with wild and untamed adventures, courtesy of two incredible authors and friends of the podcast: Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Katherine Rundell, who join us to talk about their brand new fantasy trilogies being released this autumn: In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen and Impossible Creatures.

We ask - why is three the magic number? Which are the greatest children's fantasy trilogies of all time? When is a trilogy not a trilogy? And can you even call yourself a fantasy author if your book doesn't have a map at the front?

Let us know what you make of the show – or pitch us some new ideas for future episodes – on Twitter or Instagram ⁠@dtrhradio⁠. Plus, don't forget to check out our website at ⁠dtrhradio.com⁠.

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This episode was produced by Hannah Love.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from ⁠incompetech.com⁠, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Charlie Morris and Caroline Carpenter are getting to the bottom of what makes a Killer Read in YA mysteries and thrillers. Joining us on the case are Maureen Johnson author of a brand new Stevie Bell mystery, Nina Liars, and debut YA author Ravena Guron, author of This Book Kills.From a reluctant detective in British Indian scholarship student Jess Choudhary to the crime-solving aficionado with anxiety Stevie Bell, we talk about the enduring appeal of a murder mystery, how being an outsider can help hone your detective skills, and what makes the perfect murder mystery setting. Plus, we all share books we’re looking forward to reading from our to be read piles.

Follow us on Twitter @DTRHradio or Instagram at @DTRHradio. Follow Charlie @charlieinabook, Caroline @carolineC1988, Maureen @MaureenJohnson, and Ravena @RavenaGuron

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This episode was produced by Charlie Morris.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from incompetech.com, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Grab your A to Z, mind the gap, and watch out for dragons guarding the city gates. On today's episode of Down the Rabbit Hole we're taking a trip to the edge of reality, and exploring stories that reimagine London by blending fantasy and history together. And in this sprawling city of myth and legend, who's to say where the boundary is?

Helping Sam swim through the long-buried rivers underneath the Square Mile and the West End are two spectacular special guests: the authors Patrice Lawrence and SF Said, whose recent novels The Elemental Detectives and Tyger both shake up London's history like a snow globe to merge fantasy and reality into exceptional storytelling.

Let us know what you make of the show – or pitch us some new ideas for future episodes – on Twitter or Instagram @dtrhradio. Plus, don't forget to check out our website at dtrhradio.com.

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This episode was produced by Sam Sedgman.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from incompetech.com, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Caroline, Charlie, Hannah and Sam gather round the tree for our annual Christmas spectacular! An extra-special bumper episode packed with holiday treats and book recommendations, as well as three very special authors and illustrators who've popped down the chimney to share some particularly festive tales. Plus, we chat about some of our favourite books from 2022.

Follow Mel Taylor-Bessent at @MelTBessent

Follow Steven Butler at @sbutlerbooks

Follow David Litchfield at @dc_litchfield

Let us know what you make of the show – or pitch us some new ideas for future episodes – on Twitter or Instagram @dtrhradio. Plus, don't forget to check out our website at dtrhradio.com.

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This episode was produced by Hannah Love.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from incompetech.com, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Hi listeners! There's no new episode this week as we're taking a bit of a mid-season break. But stay tuned - in two weeks we'll be back with plenty more brilliant children's book chat to get you geared up for the festive season.

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Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from incompetech.com, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Grab your capes and start practising your evil cackles, because this week we're celebrating all things wicked with an episode about supervillains! Caroline is joined by Louie Stowell, author of the Loki series, and Maz Evans, author of the Vi Spy series, as we discuss our favourite baddies in children's literature and explore what makes them so terribly fun to read and write about. Plus, discover what books we're all enjoying at the moment, and discover what our supervillain alter egos would be.

Let us know what you make of the show – or pitch us some new ideas for future episodes – on Twitter or Instagram @dtrhradio. Plus, don't forget to check out our website at dtrhradio.com.

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This episode was produced by Caroline Carpenter.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from incompetech.com, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

This week, we're getting our claws into a trend that's oh so hot right now - dragons! Join Caroline and Sam, along with special author guests Caryl Lewis and David Owen, on a flight through some of our favourite stories featuring these roar-some creatures as well as a deep dive into the mythology surrounding them, all while firing out more puns than you can shake a scaly tail at. Plus, discover what we're all reading at the moment, and find out what kind of dragons we'd want to light up our lives.

Let us know what you make of the show – or pitch us some new ideas for future episodes – on Twitter or Instagram @dtrhradio. Plus, don't forget to check out our website at dtrhradio.com.

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This episode was produced by Caroline Carpenter.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from incompetech.com, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Grab your chunky knitwear and wellington boots, everyone! This week we're getting cozy and jumping into a big pile of leaves to celebrate the best of autumnal children's books. Joining us around the bonfire are Katya Balen, winner of the 2022 Carnegie Medal for October, October and M. G. Leonard, bestselling author of the prize-winning The Twitchers series. Listen as we explore why autumn provides such fertile ground for children's books, why it's 100% definitely the BEST season of them all (sorry Spring), and ponder why it's oddly underrepresented in the canon of classics. Plus, discover what we're all reading at the moment, and find out which one of us has a rather stern chicken on our desk.

Let us know what you make of the show – or pitch us some new ideas for future episodes – on Twitter or Instagram @dtrhradio. Plus, don't forget to check out our website at dtrhradio.com.

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This episode was produced by Sam Sedgman.

Our music is Hustle by Kevin MacLeod from incompetech.com, licensed by Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0

Kicking off the new season, Hannah and Sam are joined by Frances Hardinge and Martin Brown to talk all things spooky. Get ready for a deep dive into curses and ghosts, and prepare yourself to hear the answers to questions such as 'which gentle children's classic terrified one of our guests?' 'why can adding colour to an illustration make it more scary?' and 'Just how many types of scary ARE there in children's books?'