She published her first book in her 40s and became the biggest selling author of the past decade in any genre – The Gruffalo alone has sold 13m copies. How did this former busker make it so big?The 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. Her desk looks out on the street at knee height. “I’m thinking of writing a book about legs,” Donaldson said, as she showed me around the house this summer. Children from the nearby school often wave in at her as they pass. Donaldson is well known in Steyning, due to her frequent signings at the local bookshop. She and her husband, Malcolm, a retired paediatrician, recently bought the local post office to save it from closure. But elsewhere she can walk the pavement without being recognised. “I got a letter the other day for Jacqueline Wilson,” Donaldson told me. “It said: ‘You’re my favourite author!’”If you are not someone who spends much time with young children, you may only be dimly aware of Donaldson’s work – although you will probably be familiar with her most famous creation, the Gruffalo. If you have children, however, you will know her as a cultural juggernaut whose influence among children is perhaps only surpassed by the works of Disney and CBeebies. Donaldson, who is 72, has written more than 210 books: chiefly picture books, but also poetry, plays, a 60-part phonics... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-17 06:00:31 UTC ]
Katherine Arden concludes her Winternight Trilogy with ‘Winter of the Witch.’ Plus Ruta Sepetys’s lauded 'Between Shades of Gray’ heads to the big screen with a new title, and Kamala Harris debuts with two titles, a memoir and a picture book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Southbank Centre is expecting 87,000 visitors to this year's event, which will welcome authors and illustrators such as Cressida Cowell, Malorie Blackman, Chris Riddell, Jacqueline Wilson and David McKee. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children's Group has bought a picture book on anxiety, The Worrysaurus, by Rachel Bright and illustrator Chris Chatterton. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Walliams’ November releases will be a novel about about an ice monster in Victorian times and a picture book about a baby penguin who wants to fly, HarperCollins Children’s Books has confirmed. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s Group imprint Orchard Books will next year publish a picture book about a secret agent elephant by author Eoin McLaughlin and illustrator Ross Collins. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Children’s is to posthumously publish Michael Bond’s The Ups and Downs of the Castle Mice, a sequel to his 2016 picture book The Tale of the Castle Mice. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Old Barn Books has acquired a picture book by playwright Alan Pollock about a real bear who fought in the Second World War. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paul McCartney has written a picture book, inspired by his experiences as a grandfather, which will be published by Puffin in the UK and Random House Children’s Books in the US. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s Group is preparing a new publishing programme next year to celebrate 20 years since the publication of Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees’ picture book, Giraffes Can’t Dance, and bring the book to an audience of new readers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Welsh independent publisher Graffeg has released artwork for There’s Only One of Me, a picture book about losing a parent, by cancer patient Lisa Wells and picture book author Michelle Robinson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The team behind a picture book created by Lisa Wells, who has terminal cancer, has surpassed its initial crowdfunding target of £5,000. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cancer sufferer Lisa Wells has chosen illustrators Tim Budgen and Catalina Eccheveri to work on There’s Only One of Me, her picture book about the death of a parent. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nobrow will next month publish a second picture book by Switzerland-based illustrator Francesca Sanna. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A woman with terminal cancer is working on publishing a picture book about the death of a parent with the help of authors, publishers and agents. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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REVIEW: Duck, Death & the Tulip by acclaimed writer/illustrator Wolf Erlbruch, is a beautiful and unsettling children's picture book which can be enjoyed by all ages. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2018-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors including Philip Pullman, Robin Stevens and Maz Evans are "furious" about a website offering free illegal downloads of their books. OceanofPDF.com offers users free PDF or Epub downloads of some bestselling authors’ books, including eight Philip Pullman titles, 14 books by Malorie... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Palazzo Editions is publishing a children’s picture book of Brian Bilston’s poem 'Refugees' after signing world rights from Unbound. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children’s Books has revealed the cover of Judith Kerr’s new picture book to celebrate the author’s 95th birthday. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s Group will next year publish The Colour of Happy, a picture book about emotions and empathy. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fifty of the UK’s authors and illustrators, including Sir Michael Morpurgo, Chris Riddell and Jacqueline Wilson, have pledged their support for a campaign encouraging the book industry to ditch the plastic. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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