Julia Donaldson biography
Born in 1948, Julia Donaldson was born and raised in North London with her younger sister, parents and extended family all sharing the family home. Her first interests were firmly rooted in music, her father being a Cello player and her mother a keen singer; herself and her sister were also members of the Children’s Opera Group. Attending Bristol University to study French and Drama, Donaldson met Malcolm, her future husband and together they busked their way around Europe, making up songs in the language of the country they were visiting, before marrying and settling in Glasgow.
A writer of songs for children’s BBC television, her first publication ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’ in 1993 was as a direct result of her song writing abilities with this indeed originally beginning life as one of Donaldson’s musical compositions. This first book was illustrated by Axel Scheffler and was set to be the beginning of a long and fruitful working relationship and friendship.
Her second book published, in 1999, was none other than The Gruffalo, a book which has sold over 3.5 million copies and remains a firm favourite of children, both big and small. The Gruffalo has also been released as an audio book, soft toy and musical CD. It has also been performed as a musical stage play both in London and on Broadway, New York. A multi award winning book, the sequel ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’ released in 2004 has also received recognition and accolade.
Writing for both schools and the general public Julia Donaldson has had in excess of 140 books published to date with many more planned for release in the future. In addition to her rhyming and story books Donaldson has also written plays, for both small groups and class sized groups and musicals to be performed by adults for children.
Still true to her musical beginnings she has also released two CD’s of folk inspired music entitled First Fourteen and Second Fourteen for her ‘grown-up’ fan base.
Taking inspiration from diverse themes such as Chinese folklore (The Gruffalo) and from her own natural ability with rhyme and language Donaldson has revealed a true affinity with children and their fantastical view of the world around them.
Julia Donaldson books
- A Squash and a Squeeze (1993)
- The Gruffalo (1999)
- Monkey Puzzle (2000)
- Room on the Broom (2002)
- The Smartest Giant in Town (2002)
- Night Monkey, Day Monkey (2002)
- The Snail and the Whale (2003)
- Hide and Seek Pig (Tales from Acorn Wood) (2003)
- Postman Bear (Tales from Acorn Wood) (2003)
- Fox's Socks (Tales from Acorn Wood) (2003)
- Rabbit's Nap (Tales from Acorn Wood) (2003)
- The Gruffalo's Child (2004)
- The Giants and the Joneses (2004)
- The Magic Paintbrush (2004)
- Charlie Cook's Favourite Book (2005)
- The Princess and the Wizard (2006)
- Rosie's Hat (2006)
- Follow the Swallow (2007)
- Tiddler (2007)
- Tyrannosaurus Drip (2007)
Latest news: Julia Donaldson
Julia Donaldson to visit Burnley this Friday
Children’s author Julia Donaldson will be giving a talk at Burnley Youth Theatre on Friday 19 March at 2pm. The event, which is being run by Mid Pennine Arts, provides a rare opportunity for people living in Pennine Lancashire to listen to the writer talk about her work and literary career. The ev [...]
Egmont enters eBook market
March 1, 2010 saw Egmont UK launch its first e-book list with a range of contemporary and classic titles. Twenty-one best selling titles for pre-schoolers to teens will be available for the first time as eBooks, with the first 10 titles launching next Monday, the 8th of March. Among the first titl [...]
Fantasy news round-up – February 11, 2010
The Gruffalo announced as firm favourite of Irish mothers and their children Two-thirds of Irish mothers begin reading to their child before he or she is a year old and more than a quarter read to their child from birth, according to a new survey. It found that 71 per cent of mothers read a bedt [...]
Tabby McTat by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Julia Donaldson’s newest title for 2009 is an instant hit with kids as it features the likeable character of a cat – a firm favourite with children. The book tells the story of a buskers cat giving an insight into the world from a cats perspective - any child who has a cat as a pet will find this hi [...]
The fantasy genre’s strong showing amongst Amazon’s book and author’s of the decade
The final and penultimate books in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series were the top-selling books of the last decade, according to list released by Amazon. Stephenie Meyer also showed well in the list with three of her vampire romance novels appearing in third, fourth and fifth position. Rowling was, [...]
Julia Donaldson's Room on the Broom stage adaptation on at The Pleasance, London
Tall Stories have had great success with their stage adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s masterpiece The Gruffalo. Now they’ve turned their attention to that team’s Room on the Broom. It’s not as focused or funny as The Gruffalo,but it’s a very serviceable piece of children’s theatre. [...]
The Gruffalo, poisonous warts and all, returns to the West End
From the 25th of November until the 10th of January 2010, The Gruffalo will return to the West End. After last year's sell-out success The Apollo Theatre hosts the return of the 55-minute stage adapted and directed by Tall Stories duo Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell. Since its 2006 premiere, the p [...]
The Gruffalo voted favourite bedtime story by Radio 2 listeners
Listeners to BBC Radio 2 have voted Julia Donaldson's timeless children's tale The Gruffalo as the nation's favourite bedtime story. Nearly 20,000 listeners voted from a shortlist of eight books and the Gruffalo received around one-fifth of the vote. A.A. Milne's Winnie The Pooh came second and Eric [...]
The Acorn Wood Series by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
The Tales of Acorn Wood Series is not one of Julia Donaldson’s most famous creations but they are titles designed for the early years and a great introduction to reading books, and to Donaldson’s rhyming style. The books work to capture toddlers attention with ‘lift the flaps’ which engage kids re [...]
Niffenegger praises Jonathan Strange, JK Rowling tweets and thumbs up for Ghost Hunter
Here follows a round-up of the best fantasy-related news items from the past seven days. Audrey Niffenegger’s novel The Time Traveller's Wife has sold more than five million copies. In a recent interview she was asked “What book do you wish you’d written?” And her reply? “Jonathan Strange and Mr N [...]
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