Julia Donaldson

Published: July 10, 2016, noon

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Julia Donaldson began her working life busking and writing songs, and when one of her songs became a children\\u2019s book, her phenomenally successful career as an author was born. She\\u2019s been the biggest selling author in Britain for the last six years. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has anything to do with young children, who adore her vibrant and funny rhyming picture books - which include A Squash and a Squeeze, The Snail and the Whale, and the tale of that much-loved monster, The Gruffalo.

Julia talks to Michael Berkeley about the origins of The Gruffalo \\u2013 which has sold an astonishing 10 million copies \\u2013 and the secret of writing for children. She remembers her student days busking with her husband-to-be in Paris and how much they enjoy singing and performing her stories together today.\\nJulia\\u2019s music choices reflect her intensely musical background - her father\\u2019s cello playing, her mother\\u2019s love of lieder, and her own piano playing in pieces by Schubert, Haydn and Handel. Her love of storytelling is reflected in songs by Georges Brassens and Flanders and Swann.

Producer: Jane Greenwood\\nA Loftus production for BBC Radio 3\\n

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