What the Ladybird Heard Award-winning by Julia Donaldson (author) and Lydia Monks (illustrator)

Author/Illustrator

Julia Donaldson

Julia Donaldson is author of many of today’s best-loved picture books including The Gruffalo and Stick Man. Best known for her collaborations with Axel Scheffler, each of these vivid rhyming stories is a triumph of imagination. She was also the Children’s Laureate 2011-2013.

More about Julia: “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.

I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

Before Malcolm and I had our three sons 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.

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.

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.

My novel The Giants and the Joneses is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, 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.

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.”

Reviews

1. Michelle, Scholastic Staff
   on 3 March 2011

   A riot of animal noises

   Another fantastic book for children from Julia Donaldson. This is a simple rhyming tale tells of the quiet ladybird (with some help from his farm animals friends) that helps to stop thieves from stealing the farmer’s prize cow. With a riot of animal noises to join in with plus the hidden sparkly ladybird to find on every page, there is something to keep every young reader entertained.

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What kids think

1. Hellokittygirl
   on 13 August 2015

   It is really good for children to listen to.

   5 out of 5

2. Pondybeach
   on 7 June 2015

   Beautiful vibrant colorful ! Loved every bit of it !

3. 21105
   on 23 March 2014

   Robbers !!!!! This is good

   5 out of 5

4. bookaholic202
   on 9 March 2014

   When two criminals plan to steal the cow it’s up to the ladybird to stop them.

5. cheem021
   on 10 May 2013

   it is good

6. lmdrld
   on 6 March 2013

   This is a lovely story and would recommend it to younger people.

7. nikki657
   on 6 March 2012

   my sister read this and loved it

8. summer240402
   on 2 May 2011

   My little sister loves this book.I read it to her every night!!!!

   5 out of 5