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Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a writer, publisher, and award-winning podcaster based in Penang, Malaysia, with a deep passion for uncovering the stories that shaped our world. As the Southeast Asia Editor for International Living magazine, Keith explores the intersections of history, culture, and modern life across the region.
A dynamic lecturer and storyteller, he speaks internationally on Southeast Asian politics, economics, and history—bringing the past to life with clarity, wit, and insight. Keith is also a proud Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is on a mission to make history not only accessible but genuinely entertaining for everyone.
His published books include:
• Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003).
• Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017).
• Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015).
• The Habitat Penang Hill: A pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021
• Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)
www.entrepotpublishing.com
Rearview Mirror Chronicles
The Elephant in the Nursery: What Children's Books Really Tell Us
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There are books that shape our childhood, and then there are books that quietly shape the way we see the world.
In this fascinating episode of Rearview Mirror Chronicles, Keith Hockton takes a fresh look at some of the most beloved children's classics ever written. From the tragic bedside story that gave the world Babar the Elephant, to the immigrant creators who invented France's greatest comic hero, Asterix, this is a journey through history, culture and the hidden messages tucked between the pages of our favourite bedtime stories.
Why did a gentle elephant in a green suit become the centre of fierce debates about colonialism? How did two outsiders create the most patriotic French comic of the twentieth century? And what should we do when cherished childhood books contain ideas that modern readers find deeply uncomfortable?
Warm, thought-provoking and often surprising, this episode explores the remarkable lives of the authors behind these timeless stories while asking a bigger question: are children's books ever really just for children?
You'll never look at your childhood bookshelf in quite the same way again.
For books written and published by Keith Hocton