Bestselling author Christopher Llloyd began his career as a journalist with the Sunday Times newspaper. Then, while camping with his family, he had a critical realisation: even with a double first in history from Cambridge University and experience as a science writer, there was so much about the world he didn’t know. So, he set out to write books that zoom out and tell the big stories, opening readers’ eyes to how seemingly unrelated events fit together and showing them multiple perspectives on the world, all in highly engaging prose and matched with lively illustration and photography. After his adult world history book What on Earth Happened? sold 500,000 copies around the world, Chris set out to tell the story to children, Absolutely Everything! is the result.

Now, with several books in print, some in over a dozen languages, Chris divides his time between writing books for adults and children and delivering lectures and workshops to schools, literary festivals, and a wide range of other venues around the world. Chris lives in Tonbridge, Kent, with his wife and two adorable terriers. Follow him on Twitter/X @ChrisLloydwoep.

What inspired you to write Absolutely Everything!?

I wanted to write a book that would connect the dots of the past for young people. For too long
information has been chopped up into different subjects, timetables and curriculums and that
doesn’t represent the real world we live in. If you think about it, our brains are not divided up
into different subjects or timetables, rather our brains like to connect knowledge together and
when they find a new connection, we get a little shot of joy and we start to learn things using
our own natural curiosity. That is the spirit of this book, it connects together the dots of the past allowing a giant narrative through natural history, from the Stone Age, through ancient history and into modern times. This way the story of nature is interwoven with the story of humanity in ways that traditional history books often neglect.

I like to think this approach is essential for the younger generation as they wrestle with the
issues of humans and their relationship with nature in the future.

James MacNaughton is the narrator who brings your book to life. What attributes did you look for in a narrator and what do you think the audiobook offers to listeners that differs from the printed book?

Our nonfiction books for children are always written in an engaging narrative style so children
can discover amazing facts in a similar way to how they enjoy their favourite fictional stories.
With this in mind, we always look for an audiobook narrator who can inject plenty of fun and
drama into the reading, meaning the audiobook experience is as entertaining as reading the
books themselves.

The most important thing an audiobook does is make the book more accessible. There is so
much to learn from titles like Absolutely Everything!, they can easily be enjoyed by the whole
family. The hope is that the audiobook gives people of all ages and abilities the chance to
discover just how amazing the world really is.

Your book is packed full of information, and delivered in a very kid-friendly way. What techniques did you use in your writing to ensure it would be engaging, memorable and easy to understand?

I try to make sure that the writing is done as if I am speaking to the child directly, as if I’m a
voice over their shoulder. I think this colloquial style of writing really lends itself to an audiobook too. I believe I am a storyteller not just an author and that means being able to convey narratives in different forms, not just in printed words, but also in spoken words too.

What chapter is your personal favourite, and are there any topics in the book that you found challenging to deliver?

It’s very difficult to choose but I find the natural history part of the book incredibly powerful
because of the extraordinary diversity and surprising twists and turns of natural history over
millions of years. And when humans first come into the story as a new species in the plains of
Africa amidst all the other species that have gone on before, it’s a really exciting moment.

At that point humanity is just another one of many species, there is no cultural bias or any one
perspective that the story is told from, it is simply a matter of humanity as another species in
the battle for survival in nature. Then as the story of human history unfolds it is the relationship
between the natural environment and humanity that is a backdrop to all of the events in the
book.

Is the audiobook designed to be listened to in a certain way? How do you think young listeners will get the most out of it?

Ideally it will be listened to in a chronological sequence because it’s designed to connect the
dots of the past and the chapters themselves are designed to be 25 to 30 minutes long, a
digestible length of time so that it feels like you are listening to a box set of, in this case, 17
chapters from the beginning of time to the present day.

What are you listening to at the moment? 

I have been doing a lot of travelling lately visiting publishers and taking part in school events so
when I am on a plane or a train, I have the opportunity to listen to an audiobook. I am finally
getting the chance to listen to The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future by David Wallace-
Wells, which gives a fascinating overview of the climate crisis, something I am always trying to
improve my knowledge on as so many of the children’s books we publish relate to conservation and sustainability.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to Christopher for participating in The Narrative Author Q&A. Absolutely Everything! is available on xigxag, and makes a brilliant Christmas present for inquisitive young people.