Sinéad had the great privilege of sitting down with Leona Forde this week! Leona's the author of the brilliant Milly McCarthy series (Gill Books), including Milly McCarthy is a Complete Catastrophe (2023) and the forthcoming Milly McCarthy and the Irish Dancing Disaster. Leona is a teacher, a mam, and a very busy author, and we had a great chat about music, storytelling, her teaching philosophies, her writing process, and how she does it all. Settle in and let's find out together how Leona is Storyshaped!
Books mentioned in this episode include Leona's own:
Milly McCarthy is a Complete Catastrophe
And the stories that shaped her include:
The folktales and mythology she learned from her grandmother, Mrs Maureen Herbert
The music, traditional ballads and songs played by her father and her family members
The song Leona mentions is this one:
Dublin in the Rare Oul Times by the Dubliners
The Famous Five, by Enid Blyton
The Secret Seven, by Enid Blyton
Revolting Rhymes, by Roald Dahl
The Cremation of Sam McGee, by Robert W. Service
Under the Hawthorn Tree, by Marita Conlon McKenna
Across the Barricades, by Joan Lingard
The Herbalist, by Niamh Boyce
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry
Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan
Foster, by Claire Keegan
The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley, by Timothy White
Oi Puppies, by Kes Grey
Be Wild, Little One, by Olivia Hope and Daniel Egnéus
Fidget the Wonder Dog, by Patricia Forde and Rachel Saunders
The Little Bee Charmer of Henrietta Street, by Sarah Webb
A Game of Life or Death, by Triona Campbell
The Time Tider, by Sinéad O'Hart
Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
All the Broken Places, by John Boyne
The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan
Trespasses, by Louise Kennedy
Short Stories by Frank O'Connor
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