Sugarlump and the Unicorn

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I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs. 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. 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.

Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! 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. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers. When Sam Sly invites the Singing Mermaid to join the circus, she is excited by the promise of fame and fortune. But things are not what they seem, and the Singing Mermaid soon finds herself confined to a fish tank, longing for the freedom of the ocean. I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books. Julia Donaldson is one of today's most popular writers. Her bestselling titles include The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child and Room on the Broom. Although she is best-known for her picture books, Julia also writes longer novels, plays and songs. She lives in Glasgow and spends a lot of time on stage performing her brilliant sell-out singalong shows!

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The animals on the farm are always noisy, all except for the ladybird who never says a word. But when burglars plot to steal the farmer's fine prize cow, the ladybird has a plan... I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

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. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.

Celebrate 10 years of Sugarlump and the Unicorn, written and illustrated by the bestselling partnership, Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks, with this special foiled-cover anniversary edition featuring the much-loved story and brand new bonus content.

The unicorn ended up turning Sugarlump into a fairground horse on a carousel, where Sugarlump was apparently happy and exclaimed “this is the life for me”. The kids love the ending, but secretly, I doubt that Sugarlump would be happy for long. I got the original idea for this story when I saw an old merry-go-round horse in a toy museum, and when Lydia said she’d like to ilustrate a unicorn story the idea started to take shape. 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).Includes a specially written letter, images and photos from the author and illustrator about how they came up with the idea for the story and characters. A story of finding one's place that closest to the heart may take a little wishing, a unicorn to grant the wishes and a few changes along the way. I think it is an ideal book for shared reading as there is so much the book offers in material to talk about with children aside from the pictures. There are many ideas that children can take away from this book, such as never giving up on your dreams or trying until you reach your goal, but also that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and you have to appreciate what you have.