The Baddies: a wickedly funny picture book from the creators of The Gruffalo

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A great little book from the author of The Gruffalo. A group of monsters try to take on a clever young girl and all of them fail. When a little girl moves into a nearby cottage, the Baddies can’t wait to scare her out of her wits. First sentence: There once lived a troll and a ghost and a witch. They were horrible baddies all three. They never said sorry or thank you or please, and their hearts were as hard as could be.

The Baddies - Julia Donaldson The Baddies - Julia Donaldson

Published just in time for Halloween, I had great hopes for this story featuring a ghost and a witch (and a troll). Premise/plot: Three villains or "baddies" scheme to steal a little girl's handkerchief. Will any of them succeed? 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. With Julia Donaldson’s (author of The Gruffalo) trademark quirky humour and rhyming text and Axel Scheffler’s detailed illustrations, there are lots of fun things to spot as you read and reread the text. 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.The Baddies are the meanest, nastiest ghost, witch and troll in the land. They just adore being bad, and fight over who is the worst. 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 latest offering from the A Team in picture books - Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. This one focuses on a trios of 'baddies' who aren't really good at being bad. They try their best but it's just not good (or bad) enough. The girl in the story is either unaware or just not at all bothered by their attempts to scare her. Instead, the Baddies all just look rather ridiculous.

The Baddies by Julia Donaldson | WHSmith The Baddies by Julia Donaldson | WHSmith

Captivating, full of opportunities for giggles and even a story for the bigger children… (yes adults that’s you!) 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).

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. In her latest book The Baddies, she uses her signature style in a hilarious fashion. The Baddies are the meanest and scariest witch, ghost and troll in the land. It is each their goal to be the nastiest and often fight over who is the worst. So when a little girl moves in nearby they just can't wait to terrorise and scare her but what they don't know is this isn't any ordinary little girl. She teaches them you don't have to be big and bad to be brave and that baddies hardly ever win. Your child will giggle their way through this comic tale of three very bad, silly, and completely hopeless storybook characters who dare each other to steal a hanky-chief from a young girl walking through their woods. Of course, the little mouse saves the day and rids the woods of our pesky villains, and we all sleep more soundly at night. I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

The Baddies by Julia Donaldson | Goodreads The Baddies by Julia Donaldson | Goodreads

You have to understand that when I see a new Julia Donaldson picture book, I'm am fully prepared to be blown away by her story. The woman is a genius!!! Brief summary: A troll, ghost, and witch are baddies who enjoy being bad and bragging about it. A girl moves into a nearby cottage. The baddies devise different ways to scare her but are unsuccessful as she shows them kindness and understanding. 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. 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.