Top 10 explosions in children's books

Rachel Hamilton studied at Oxford and Cambridge and has put her education to good use by working in an ad agency, a comprehensive school, a building site and a men’s prison. Her interests are books, films, stand-up comedy and cake, and she loves to make people laugh, especially when it’s intentional rather than accidental.

She is the author of The Case of the Exploding Loo and The Case of the Exploding Brains.

One of her top ten explosions in children's books, as shared at the Guardian:

The Bomb and the General by Umberto Eco (illustrated by Eugenio Carmi)

This book is a work of art, which I’d recommend for Carmi’s abstract illustrations alone. Published in 1966, it tells the tale of the atomic bomb. Atoms were everywhere, doing no one any harm, until the Generals discovered “smashing” them would create a terrifying explosion and forced them into shells. The peace-loving atoms find a way to defy the Generals (no spoilers here, but flowerpots are involved). In summary - the greatest explosion that never was.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue