Posted on 22 August 2010, 16:33

In my home town of Cardiff yesterday I went to Waterstones to see my sister, Sue Barrow, do a signing for her two new books, published by Hometown World. This new publisher spotted a gap in the educational market a couple of years ago and started commissioning books for young readers by local authors on the history of where they live.

Since Sue like me was born and raised in Cardiff, but also lived for a time in Pontypridd, she’s written two books for them, on Cardiff and the Welsh Valleys.

The books cover the invasions of the Romans, the Normans and the industrialists (plus the Internet), and they’re full of lively storytelling based on original research, which is matched with plentiful illustration and dropped-on-the-page objects. I’m biased, obviously, but I’m a fan of popularised history, and it’s a good feeling to see my sister working in the same area as I did in The Bible from Scratch.