STRIKES AND HEARTBREAKING FAN MAIL
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mail, as her books, such as Room on thee Broom, often play an important part inn helping sick children through an illnesss or bereavement.
Julia said: “Very, very often, I’ ll gett someone writing saying one of theirr children has died and the older one got some solace from reading the book or asking if one of my books could be buried with their child.
“There was a child with leukaemia and they sent me a video of their child reciting
Room on the Broom. This particular child was going to die and I did a video back.
“I’d say in any batch of fan mail there is always one letter like that or about a child like that.”
Julia loves meeting her young fans andnd their parents and grandparents at book signings – and also at the shows she puts on in schools and theatres.
She said: “It’s wonderful. They often say, ‘ Thank you for so many hourss of joy reading to the children.children’. I know what they mean because I have read to my children.
“But I’m modest enoughnough to not totally take all the credit for that because it’s the parents who love their childrendren and the children who love their parents.nts.
“You sneak in theree with your book and there is this rosy halo of comfort and love, so you have to be a littlettle bit modest.”
She is also proud when she hears her books have helped autistic children interact with friendss and family.
She said: “I’m very often contacted aboutut autistic
children.en. I get
Greta, above. Author Julia Donaldson, below onesone saying, ‘My child didn’t talk or was autautistic and couldn’t read but learned witwith your books’.
“II’m sure other authors get them, too,” she added, humbly.
AndA Julia knows exactly how hard parentingpare can be.
TogetherTo with her doctor husband Malcolm,Mal she brought up three sons – Hamish,Ham Alastair and Jerry.
ButBu their lives were shattered when her troubledtroub eldest child, Hamish, who had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder,disor took his own life in 2003, aged 25. The tragedy came shortly after Julia’s careercaree really took off following the release of The Gruffalo in 1999.
Before becobecoming a children’s author, Julia used her rhyming skills to write songs for children’s television.
She only made the switch to books in 1993 when a publisher contacted her to ask if the words to one of her songs, A Squash and A Squeeze, could be made into a children’s picture book.b She had writtenten the song for a 1975 edition of the BBC’s Playboardboard show.
The book was also illustraillustrated by Scheff ler, who was behind The Gruffalo and The Snail and the Whale. Together they have become the most successful author and illustraillustrator duo in picture book history.
Julia hopes her stories emempower readers. She said: “It’s important for children to have stories and thingsg to aspire p to.
“In real life, thingst tend ttoo get worse but in stories, there is s a lot of hardshardshipship and things get better. Even if that’s not a total reflection of your life, it does give children hope. I do think that is important.”
Having one of her stories turned into a Christmas Day BBC One animation by Magic Light Pictures is a thrill for Julia.
But she admits she always nervously worries that her grandchildren, who have grown up with her books, might get bored. However, it has never happened yet.
She added: “I just always hope they don’t go out of the room, start fidgeting or playing with their Lego. But so far they have their attention captured by the films.”
Julia welcomed a new grandchild just a few weeks ago and now has four grandsons and four granddaughters, who help her understand what children want in their stories.
She said: “I think my grandchildren teach me, sort of subconsciously, what they will find gripping and what language is too complicated.
“I try to sometimes be a little bit simpler and straightforward, perhaps since having grandchildren.”
But she admits her son Alastair gifted her an idea for her 2018 book, The Cook and the King, after dreaming up the story for his own daughter.
She said: “Alastair made up this story about the cook and the king and I thought it was a really funny story so I turned it into a book and made it all rhyme and such. I did do it but it was basically Alistair’s story.”
The Snail and the Whale is on BBC One on Christmas Dayy at 2.30pm. p