Since her first book was published in 1993, Julia Donaldson has become one of Britain’s best-selling authors. Her stories weave imagery, patterns and humour in a way that it’s easy to forget to stop and admire the clever beauty of the work. Reading her lyrical rhymes, with each word judiciously placed, you find yourself bobbing your head and singing along in spite of yourself. In the last 25 years, the author, who also serves as the Children’s Laureate, has written over 200 stories, poems and plays for all ages. For children, Donaldson’s name evokes joy; for parents, it’s comfort. And for many writers, her mention evokes the question, “How does she do it?
Crafted in delight
Before I get a chance to meet the picture book rockstar during her recent tour of India, I conjure up an image — an (understandably) smug figure, who would talk to me in verse, while writing out the seventh idea she’s had in a day. Instead, I find myself talking to a self-assured woman who graciously converses with interviewer after interviewer.
Donaldson comes across as someone who takes delight in her craft and is untouched by success.
This composed persona transforms when she steps on to the stage (she regularly performs her stories and songs across the world). “The writing can be quite lonely and introspective, though satisfying, and performing is more unpredictable and sociable. Fortunately, I can do both, though I have to be careful to allow enough time for the writing,” she says.
Creative instinct
Whichever way you experience Donaldson’s books, her knack for storytelling is obvious — whether you’re reading about a bungling dragon ( Zog , 2010) or a selfish rat ( The Highway Rat , 2011). She reminisces, “Storytelling was an important part of my childhood. My parents and granny used to read to us and give us books of fairy stories for our birthdays. And my best friend and I used to buy books in second-hand shops and swap them.”
No matter how easy she makes it look, she says writing a book is hard work. “The hardest part is not getting the initial idea. It is the stage of developing it [in my head] into a satisfying story. Next is crafting this story into a structured form — usually verse, with some kind of chorus, though not all my books rhyme.
Each time I tear out my hair and feel, ‘I can’t do this any more!’. But my husband replies, ‘You always say that,’” she shares.
Read enough of Donaldson’s work, and you start to notice a pattern. She often tells the story of the underdog — whether it’s the mouse in The Gruffalo or the snail in The Snail and the Whale . This tendency has made it to her latest book as well. The Ugly Five tells the story of the less majestic, less beloved animals of Africa.
Art and craft
The book also marks Donaldson’s latest collaboration with illustrator Axel Scheffler, with whom she has consistently worked. “Axel’s work is unique. He brings insight, humour and brilliant details to every illustration. After over 20 years of working on books together, I still get the thrill of excitement when I get to see his final artwork. There must be some kind of chemical reaction between my words and his pictures which makes the result special, because we don’t communicate at all during the creation process. I write the story first and then my editor sends it to him and he illustrates it without my breathing down his neck,” shares the writer.
So a picture book author needs to have a lot of faith? “Although I describe the Gruffalo within my story from his ‘terrible tusks’ to his ‘turned-out toes’, he could have looked quite different. I think I imagined him looking a bit weirder — more like a creature from outer space. But as soon as I saw Axel’s Gruffalo I thought, ‘Of course — that’s what he looks like’,” she says.
- Last year, Donaldson did 70 shows, from big theatres to smaller school events. In her husband, she has found the perfect partner. They’ve been performing together since before they were married and, seven grandchildren later, they’re still at it. “I have a willing accomplice in my husband, Malcolm; he’s now a retired doctor and loves being in the shows, acting and playing his guitar.”
- Donaldson’s venturing into theatrical performances is no accident. The writer, who has studied drama, says, “I started off busking in the street, singing mainly to an adult audience. Then I went on to write songs which I sang in folk clubs — again, mainly for adults. But I found that there was more of a market for children’s songs, mainly within television; and then one of my BBC songs, ‘A Squash and a Squeeze,’ was made into a book, which set me off on the children’s book path.”
