Children from the nearby school often wave in at her as they pass. “I’m thinking of writing a book about legs,” Donaldson said, as she showed me around the house this summer. Her desk looks out on the street at knee height. We also love the Julia Donaldson collection in audio, with many brilliant readers such as Imelda Staunton and Alexander Armstrong.T he room where the children’s author Julia Donaldson writes – the heart of her vast picture book empire – is down a winding staircase, in the cellar of her grand white house in Steyning, West Sussex. The Gruffalo, one of the most successful Julia Donaldson stories, has been translated into over 43 different languages, including Scottish Gaelic. If you love the Gruffalo book, check out some of the great activities here, as well as the Gruffalo song. She decided she wanted to be a writer when her father gave her a big book of poems for her fifth birthday. Julia Donaldson is a CBE and was Children’s Laureate from 2011-2013 Julia Donaldson’s new book The Teeny Weeny Genie, illustrated by Anna Currey, came out in July 2020. Julia Donaldson books sell all over the world, making her one of the UK’s top selling authors. These include the Princess Mirror-Belle books aimed at 6-9 year olds, and Running on the Cracks, a novel for teenagers. Crazy Mayonnaisy Mum for ages 5-7 Wriggle and Roar for pre-school The Paper Dolls book and CD) and she has also written a few non-rhyming books for older children. Aside from her picture books, Julia Donaldson's poems are also immensely popular (e.g. She has written over 150 books, including the Julia Donaldson Songbirds (readers that are part of the Oxford Reading Tree), which is used in schools.

The Gruffalo story is a particular favourite with children all over the world, with toys, activity books and even woodland trails featuring the Gruffalo characters. Julia has also worked with other famous illustrators including Lydia Monks and Nick Sharratt. The two have since gone on to produce a large number of bestselling picture books together, many of which have also been adapted into Julia Donaldson films on the BBC, such as The Highway Rat, Stick Man and The Gruffalo. One of these songs, A Squash and a Squeeze, was made into her first book in 1993 in collaboration with the illustrator, Axel Scheffler. She started her career as a singer-songwriter, writing mainly for children’s television. Born in London in 1948, she grew up with her younger sister Mary who she loved to create imaginary characters with. Julia Donaldson is the highly talented author of some of the best-loved children’s books in the world.

The gruffalo book