Photography: Ed Miller
Cookie has a passion for learning new things. Were you like that as a child"
Definitely. My parents moved to the UK in the 1960s from Bangladesh, and the revered professions from growing up in that kind of culture were accountancy or engineering, whereas over here, people tend to aspire to be on the TV! A lot of children in Bangladesh grow up without a formal education, too, so there was always a big focus on school and learning in our family.
What do your children think about the book"
My seven year old, Covey, absolutely loves it. Huxley, who?s five, does as well, though he?s a little young for it. He?s had bits of the book read to him and he understands the humour, which I suppose is a good thing!
What other books do you enjoy reading to your children" Covey is into The 13-Storey Treehouse, which is a series of funny, illustrated stories about these two boys who live in a treehouse, and all sorts of wacky things happen there. Huxley and I have just been reading The Twits by Roald Dahl, and we?re going to try the Elephant and Piggie series next. It?s so simple but hilarious, and Huxley can read some of it by himself.
Any plans for the summer holidays"
We had tickets to go to Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Suffolk, in July, and that?s really family-friendly. There?s so much for kids to do there.
What else have you got in the pipeline for the rest of this year"
I?m starting a new podcast for BBC Sounds, which is all about ...