Julia Donaldson - Hutje Mutje

Growing up

I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).

Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

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Busking and books

Before Malcolm and I had our family, we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.

The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.
I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs. One of these songs, sung by Malcolm and called “Cochon Blues” was played as one of my choices when I was on the Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs.
One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.
My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.
I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.
Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is a novel for 7-11 year olds, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. For teenagers there is a novel called RUNNING ON THE CRACKS.
When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.

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A day in my life

Tea in bed. Second cup.

Dislodge cats.Get up.

Son to school. Spouse to work.

Sit at desk – mustn’t shirk.

Scratch head. Dream up snail.

Maybe team her up with whale?

Chew pen. What next?

Can’t think. Feel vexed.

Feed cats. Open post.

Read it, over slice of toast.

Little boy wants to know

Date of birth of Gruffalo.

Little girl wonders why

Giant gave away his tie.

Out to shops. Get idea

(Big grin, ear to ear):

Brilliant climax – whale gets beached!

(Rhyme a problem . . . reached? Beseeched?

Leeched? Well never mind, just now.)

Snail then rescues whale – but how???

Back home, get stuck.

Go off snail. Consider duck.

Phone rings. Who is it?

School, requesting author visit.

Check diary . . . shocked to see

“Monday, Brookwood Library”.

That’s today! Leap in car.

Thank goodness, not far.

Tell a story, act and sing.

Kids join in with everything.

(Teacher sits there marking books,

Blind to my accusing looks.)

Answer questions. Back to house.

Joined by son, later spouse.

Open bottle. Cook salmon.

Practise piano. Play Backgammon.

Have bath - that’s when

Inspiration strikes again:

Snail could learn to write with slime!

(Quite an easy word to rhyme.)

Crawls on blackboard, leaves a trail . . .

Children run and save the whale.

Story planned! Tomorrow, start

Writing it – the easy part.

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A Book About Me

Julia Donaldson:
a biography

by Gill Howell
OUP Fireflies, 2006
isbn  978 01984 73893

This is a very short book for beginner readers, part of the OUP’s Fireflies series of non-fiction books.  It includes pictures of me as a child and acting in university plays and tells the story of how I became an author.
Order from OUP Customer Services, tel 01536 741171

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Children's Laureate

It’s a great honour that I’ve been chosen to be the Children’s Laureate. My term will run from June 2011 until June 2013. I think it’s going to be a very busy two years and I see it as an exciting adventure, often to unknown places. So I can’t yet say exactly what I hope to achieve. However, with my background in plays and song-writing, I would like to explore projects which link books with drama and music. You can find out more on the Children’s Laureate website, which is www.childrenslaureate.org.uk,  but here is a
summary of my main plans and ideas:

• To encourage children to act and to read aloud. During the 15 or so years that I’ve been visiting schools and libraries and performing in book festivals and theatres,  I’ve discovered how much children enjoy participating in stories – acting parts  in them, and joining in choruses. As well as being fun, performing is, in my  opinion, tremendously good for children’s confidence. I also think that it can improve their reading skills.
• I’d love to see more children writing short plays too. When these are based on a book or story they can often be easier to write than starting from scratch to create a story; and then there is all the enjoyment of acting out the plays.
• I also think there’s a very strong link between music and stories, and will support or maybe initiate projects which encourage children to sing and to make up their own songs.
• I’d like to explore the possibility of a regular book or story slot on radio or television – maybe one which involves children acting out stories or reading out poems.
• I’m very interested in signed stories for deaf children and hope to find out more and promote this area of story-telling.
• I’m determined to support libraries, perhaps by doing a John-o-Groats to Lands End libraries tour! I shall of course lend my voice to the campaign to halt the cuts and closures which as I see as so damaging to our children and their future.
• The six previous laureates (Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen and Anthony Browne) have done all sorts of good things, and I want to make sure that I keep these alive.
• So drama, music, stories for deaf children, libraries,these feel at present like my “big things”; and they’re all linked to the “biggest thing” ofall – the pleasure and richness to be gained from reading. Here is a poem (from my Crazy Mayonnaisy Mum anthology) in which I’ve tried to describe that wonderful journey into other worlds and minds that reading takes us on.

I opened a book and in I strode.
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.
I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion.
I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king
And dived in a bottomless ocean.
I opened a book and made some friends.
I shared their tears and laughter
And followed their road with its bumps and bends
To the happily ever after.
I finished my book and out I came.
The cloak can no longer hide me.
My chair and my house are just the same,
But I have a book inside me.

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