Here are two sources of useful background material about favourite writers. Dick King-Smith’s modest and unassuming autobiography, Chewing the Cud - an Unexpected Life from Farmyard to Hollywood (Viking pound;12.99), dwells mainly on his wartime and farming experience. We discover that Dick isn’t his real name (he was christened Gordon) and that, as a farmer, he was a poor businessman. In the last 20 pages he talks about his teaching (he was a primary teacher for seven years) and his writing. There’s also an excellent poem about his grandparents’ grave.

The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter by David Colbert (Penguin pound;5.99) examines some of the classical and mythical references in the JKRowling pantheon. Colbert has done his job well, producing a richly informative but not overly heavy read.