JuLIA DONALDSON

About Julia Donaldson She grew up in a tall terraced Victorian London house with her parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and Julia would argue about which of them would marry him!). Mary and Julia were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and Julia used to write shows and choreograph ballets for them to perform. She studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where she met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom she is now married.

Her first famous book was THE GRUFFALO, illustrated by Axel Scheffler Her first famous book was THE GRUFFALO, illustrated by Axel Scheffler. They work separately – he is based in London and Julia is in Glasgow but they have published many books together. Julia enjoys writing verse, even though it can be difficult. She used to memorise poems as a child. When she is not writing she is often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. She really enjoys getting the children in the audience to help act out the stories and sing the songs.

Which stories are these quotations from? Challenge 1 Which stories are these quotations from? "Woosh! They were gone." "His eyes are orange, his tongue is black, He has purple prickles all over his back." "Wise old man, wont you help me please..." "No, no, no, that's not my mummy!" "His shirt was a sail on a boat for a goat."

Did you guess correctly? A Squash and a Squeeze The Gruffalo Room on the Broom! The Smartest Giant in Town Monkey Puzzle Did you guess correctly?

Bring your challenges in to school and share them with the class. Make a list of all Julia Donaldson books you can think of. Draw as many Julia Donaldson characters that you can think of. Describe the different settings for Julia Donaldson stories. Bring your challenges in to school and share them with the class.