Time to meet Gruffalo Julia; Best-selling children's writer Julia Donaldson will be making a rare appearance in Huddersfield next week to promote her latest book Stick Man. She is best known for her rhyming book, The Gruffalo, which is being made into an animated film and still tops the picture book charts. HILARIE STELFOX reports

Byline: HILARIE STELFOX

ANYONE with a child under five in the family will probably have heard of The Gruffalo.

Written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, it is the UK's best-selling picture book and has sold more than one million copies worldwide. The Gruffalo made its author famous in literary circles and a household name in homes where parents and carers read to children. It has also been adapted for the stage and will be the Lawrence Batley Theatre's children's production this Christmas. Mia, who raised her three sons while penning books and plays for children and teenagers, started out in the entertainment business. After studying for a degree in drama and French, she began writing songs and performing. "I picked up the guitar as a student and went busking in Paris with a couple of friends, including Malcolm (who later became her husband)."

"I'd write special songs for special occasions and sometimes perform them at children's events. In the end I sent a tape of the songs to the BBC and they were accepted," explained Julia, who instantly acquired a career writing children's songs for 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 wrapping paper into the bin' was a typical request from the BBC," she said. In 1993 one of her songs was made into a book, A Squash and a Squeeze, and since then she has written more than 40 books and plays for young people and 80-plus educational books. Julia's speciality is the rhyming story, perhaps inevitable for a song writer. The Gruffalo won three major British book awards - The Smarties Prize, Blue Peter award for 'Best book to teenagers that will be out in the read aloud', and the Experian 'Big Three' award.

As well as books she has written plays for her sons' primary school and has completed a novel for spring.

Now that her children are grown-up, Julia is free to travel and promote her work. Her husband Malcolm, a paediatrician, sometimes accompanies her. "In 2006/7 he took a year out and we went to the theatre a lot and travelled round the world to book events," said Julia, who speaks fluent French, German and Italian. Now living in Bearsden, Glasgow, she is a frequent visitor to Scottish schools and libraries, but will be making a whistle-stop trip to Huddersfield on Tuesday, October 7, to sign copies of her new picture book, The Stick Man, at The Children's Bookshop, Lindley. (She'll be there from 3.15pm until 4.30pm.)

The Stick Man is actually a spin-off from an illustration that appears in The Gruffalo's Child, sequel to The Gruffalo.

"In the picture there's a little stick, which the illustrator put there. I started thinking about the stick and how it might have a little stick family and a life of his own," said Julia.

The story grew from this small, whimsical thought and was illustrated by Axel. "I wrote the book and it was sent to him. He sent back some rough sketches and I was free to make comments. That's how we work together," explained Julia. They have been collaborating on a German version of Stick Man (Axel is German), which they will promote as a team. Mia still writes songs and music, composing in her head and on the piano before working up the chords on her guitar. And Malcolm is still her busking companion. "We really enjoy singing together," she says.

Another top children's author, Andy Stanton, author of the Mr Gum series, will also be appearing at The Children's Bookshop, Lindley on Wednesday, October 8, from 4pm, and at Lindley Library from 8pm.

CAPTION(S):

INSPIRED WORK: The cover of Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and scene from The Gruffalo's Child, to be performed at the Lawrence Batley Theatre this Christmas, from Julia's best-selling book; BIG IDEAS: author Julia Donaldson and her creation The Gruffalo

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