Princess Mirror-Belle Award-winning team 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

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What kids think

1. RZ-9217
   on 15 June 2014

   This book was really good!!!!

2. Chise2504
   on 9 June 2014

   I read half of the book very interesting but rainbow magic books are still better even for me and I’m 9

3. Mishaal
   on 5 June 2014

   one star?

   1out of 5

4. loolypop999
   on 14 May 2014

   the book was so good but i wish club members could get it for free

   5out of 5

5. lady16
   on 1 May 2014

   I liked this book with all the adventure witch got me excited. It really is a good book that any one that likes adventure books

   5out of 5

6. emliy1014
   on 21 February 2014

   this is a good book

   5out of 5

7. abby840
   on 22 March 2013

   i realy like this book and i reccomend that you lot will too if u do start reading it i hope you enjoy it cause i sure did!

8. Paradise56
   on 5 March 2013

   i like this book its really good

9. sunnyrainbow123
   on 5 March 2013

   THIS IS GREAT BOOK FOR CHILDREN IN YR 3 AND OVER IT IS ABOUT A GIRL WHO WAS A PRINCESS LIVING INSIDE HER MIRROR.

   RATE:4/10 RECOMMEND:8+

10. Book-Club-Review-Team
    on 8 January 2013

    I liked this book because Ellen and Princess Mirror-Belle had lots of adventures; you never knew when Princess Mirror-Belle was going to turn up. My favourite part was when Mirror-Belle went to school with Ellen pretending to be her twin. It was funny when Mirror-Belle kissed Stephen and Bruce. I loved the whole book and loved that each chapter was a whole story so I found out the ending the same day and did not have to wait for ages.

    This is definately a book for girls aged 5 and older. I would tell all my friends about this book.

    Stephanie, aged 7