Room on the Broom Award-winning

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.”

Axel Scheffler

Axel Scheffler was born in 1957 in Hamburg, Germany. At school, although always good at art, he never really considered a career in illustration. But long before he began his professional life, he had won his first drawing prize for an international chocolate company – his prize was a cuddly lilac cow.

Axel went on from school to study History of Art at the University of Hamburg – but he didn’t like the course and decided to leave. Knowing that he wanted to live in another country and learn a second language, he moved to England to study illustration at the Bath Academy of Art.

After graduating with a first class degree, Axel moved to London where he began illustrating for a variety of English and German advertising companies, magazines and newspapers. He took his portfolio to a number of publishers and Faber commissioned him to illustrate The Piemakers by Helen Cresswell and The Bottle Rabbit by Bernard McCabe. In 1989, Walker asked Axel to illustrate a text by Jon Blake, You’re a Hero, Daley B.

A writer called Julia Donaldson was also writing songs for Playdays at this time and her song A Squash and a Squeeze was commissioned to be a picture book. Axel Scheffler was recommended as an illustrator for the text and an award-winning team was created.

Their next book, The Gruffalo, was published in March 1999 and has already become a modern classic, selling more than 2 million copies worldwide and translated into over 20 languages. Axel also continues to illustrate for other authors as well, including Ian Whybrow and David Henry Wilson.

Axel has achieved worldwide acclaim for his humorous illustrations, and his books have been translated into over 29 languages. He has enjoyed particular success in his award-winning picture book collaborations with Julia Donaldson, but is also the best-selling illustrator of novelty books such as The Bedtime Bear. In 2006 he was been called upon to design Gordon Brown’s annual Christmas card!

Still living in London, Axel makes frequent visits to continental Europe. His hobbies include walking, cooking and reading and beadwork.

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What kids think

1. emkie8
   on 13 April 2016

   It’s a really good book

   5out of 5

2. mrunu
   on 11 April 2015

   I have already read this book the funny part is at the end.

3. bookaholic202
   on 9 March 2014

   This is great for little kids as it tells them about witches without scaring them.

4. Cheerforevers
   on 8 March 2014

   This is a heart warming story.

5. harper01
   on 7 March 2014

   I like witches so I had to read this book its nice and easy to read and a nice quick book to read before bedtime

   5out of 5

6. ninjastickman
   on 6 March 2013

   This is an unforgetable tale of an old witch who has a broom and each time she lands a little animal asks: “Is there room on the broom for a thing like me”. I recommend this book for young readers aged 2-6

   5out of 5

7. samcharlie123
   on 5 March 2013

   What a great book! Perfect for the younger readers here.

   I used to read this all the time, and I bet I still have it on my bookshelf somewhere!

   5out of 5

8. lmdrld
   on 4 March 2013

   This book is about a witch loosing her stuff.

9. hamy1710
   on 4 March 2012

   best book I hav ever read.

10. Flissy22
    on 2 March 2012

    i adored this book when i was little, i used to jooin in with who ever was reading i new it that well !! x

11. Partyfairy123
    on 2 March 2012

    The witch goes down to find things but then a dragon comes. It is happy in the end. I like the broom at the end.

12. angelslater
    on 1 March 2012

    this is great as is the rhyming in this book.

    4out of 5

13. 10000madison
    on 15 September 2011

    looks good to me

    4out of 5

14. StMarysSchool
    on 19 June 2011

    We LOVED reading this book in our class lessons, and we can’t wait to read more from Julia Donaldson!

    5out of 5

15. wenti
    on 3 January 2011

    Funny book.

    4out of 5

16. Hello5678
    on 30 September 2010

    I Think book is for toddlers,in my opinion. This book can help young learners to read and you will love this book like I did when I was younger. But now that I am older I still like to read it although I’m in My last year in primary School. But I have to say that the Book “Room on the Broom” helped me to learn to read (In my Opinion) And I hope it will do the same for you

    3out of 5

17. shoeaholic
    on 28 March 2010

    this book is totally fab i could read this again and again julia and axel this book is exellent!!!!!!!!

    5out of 5

18. axle
    on 17 February 2010

    i love it who dose not ?

    buy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

    5out of 5

19. Prettyprincess1
    on 18 November 2009

    sorry axel bot i dont like that book

    1out of 5

20. caseybearchocolate
    on 17 February 2009

    I got this book when I was a bit younger and thought it was quite good, would recommend to age group 3-5 yrs, although my mum loves it (because it rhymes, and she is a lot older) !

    4out of 5

21. Malevolent
    on 14 January 2009

    This is a favourite book of mine and my children (3 year old boys). I got it for them when they were about 20 mths old and it is still read to them now.

    5out of 5

22. dooby
    on 26 May 2008

    I enjoyed this book a lot.

    5out of 5

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