Donaldson, now with 200-plus books to her name, was inspired by folk tale
Author Julia Donaldson poses with her medal after being appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London on May 2, 2019, for services to Literature. (KIRSTY O'CONNOR / POOL / AFP)
"A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good...."
These are the opening lines of The Gruffalo, a short rhyming children's story written by British author Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, first published in 1999.
Since then, the story of the clever little mouse who goes through the woods, scaring off predators by threatening them with an imaginary creature called a gruffalo - only to then discover that gruffalos do really exist - and also its sequel, The Gruffalo's Child, have become cornerstones of the early years of numerous children around the world.
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Translated into 76 languages, ranging from Albanian to Zulu, and selling 17 million copies, as well as being made into a stage show and Oscar-nominated short film, the Gruffalo books have established Donaldson as one of the world's best-selling and prolific children's authors, having so far published more than 200 booksand counting.
The book is about comparing animals to one another and was a very quick write. The text is very slight but it took a long time to illustrate
Julia Donaldson
Her latest is the paperback edition of a book called Animalphabet, whose original hardback edition won the Chen Bochui award at the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair in 2018.
Although she is best known for her early years work, Donaldson's books cover the whole range of childhood and young adult work. In 2007, she visited China, and as she told China Daily, there is a strong Chinese thread running through her output - starting with The Gruffalo.
"I'd read several versions of a story about a girl who went through the forest with a tiger wanting to eat her, but claiming she was the queen of the forest and having protection from other animals, which is where I got the idea from," she said. "It was only later that I found out that the origins of the story were in fact Chinese."
Before she became an author, Donaldson was a children's songwriter, and she attributes the success of The Gruffalo to a simple formula - "Good rhymes, good story, great pictures, bit scary."
The illustrations certainly play a big part in her success, and in the case of The Gruffalo and many of her other books, they are by German artist Scheffler.
Donaldson's next new book for younger readers is coming out soon. (PHOTO PROVIDED BY MACMILLAN CHILDREN'S BOOKS)
Much of the popularity of Animalphabet, which has also proved a hit in China, is, Donaldson says, down to the pictures by Australian illustrator Sharon King-Chai.
"The book is about comparing animals to one another and was a very quick write," she said. "The text is very slight but it took a long time to illustrate. We're working together on another one called Counting Creatures, about the number of babies different animals have, so I hope that will prove just as popular in China."
Running on the Cracks, published in 2009, was Donaldson's first book for young adults and a move away from the genre that made her name, but again with a Chinese connection, telling the story of a teenager whose parents die in a plane crash and who then goes in search of his Chinese grandparents in Scotland.
And for anyone facing a period of novel coronavirus isolation who thinks now might be the chance to write that book they always wanted to, but never had time for, Donaldson has some simple tips.
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"If you're an adult writing for children, plan your story and make sure you have a good, if possible clever, ending because so many editors tell me they receive submissions they really like which have lame endings that let them down," she said.
"Also, have a good idea of what today's children are already reading. Don't just have your set ideas, know your audience."
