The Island of Brilliant!

The Island of Brilliant! has a delightfully bonkers premise: children's authors Frank Cottrell Boyce and Nadia Shireen are shipwrecked on a fictional island and pass the time by talking about brilliant children's books. Frank is the Carnegie Medal-winning writer behind Millions and Cosmic. Nadia is an award-winning author-illustrator. Together they bring genuine literary credibility and a playful energy that makes talking about books feel exciting rather than homework-adjacent. The guest list is seriously impressive. Michael Rosen, Axel Scheffler, Lauren Child, and Emily Drabble from BookTrust have all appeared. Episodes run anywhere from 22 minutes to over an hour, and they publish monthly, so each instalment feels like an event rather than background noise. The conversations cover new releases, reading recommendations, and interviews with established authors about their craft and favourite childhood reads. With 38 episodes and a perfect 5.0-star rating (albeit from a small number of reviews), this is a niche but high-quality offering. It is squarely aimed at families who care about children's literature and want to discover their next great read together. The production, with music from the Ukulele Uff Trio, has a handmade charm that fits the shipwreck conceit perfectly. For book-loving kids and the adults who read with them, this podcast is a genuine treat.