The Gruffalo lady

Gruffalo, a picture book with rhyming verses about a clever mouse who gets the better of larger animals such as a fox and a snake, is a bestseller among children's books today. Since 1999, when it was published, Gruffalo has sold over 13 billion copies in 40 languages, besides being adapted into plays and an animated film. Julia Donaldson, its author, and Children's Laureate (2011-13), will be in Jaipur for ZeeJLF this year, and speaks about what keeps her going. Edited excerpts from an email interaction:

Your first book 'A Squash and a Squeeze' (1993) came when you were 44, and you've written around 200 books since. What keeps you going? And why just books for children?

When I started out as a songwriter I wrote for adults as much as I wrote for children. But the market for children's songs was stronger. Besides, there was never a desire to write a novel for adults. Within children's publishing, I have explored a lot of genres: a teenage novel titled Running on the Cracks; short chapter books about the outrageous Princess Mirror-Belle; and a phonic reading scheme which is widely used in primary schools. But probably, my real strength lies in creating rhyming picture books, so that's what I mainly do. And there's still a lot of variety within that as I work with so many different, talented authors. There's no real problem keeping going as – luckily for me – there always seems to be a demand for new stories.

You did not find a taker for Gruffalo initially. How did you deal with the disappointment?

It wasn't that there wasn't a taker, but the publisher I initially sent it to (the one that first published A Squash and a Squeeze) was up for sale and were very slow at getting back to me. After they'd sat on it for nearly a year, I sent the text to Axel Scheffler (illustrator of A Squash and a Squeeze). He showed it to Macmillan – and within about a week I had an offer from them!

How important is to have a happy ending in children's writing?

I think it is important to have a happy or at least a hopeful ending in a book for younger children. But I certainly don't aim to preach or to write moral tales. I'm aiming for a good story, if possible with a clever twist, and above all with memorable language.

Which of your characters is your favourite?

The character I most enjoyed writing about was the subversive Princess Mirror-Belle, who comes out of a mirror, is always boasting about her fairy tale land and misunderstanding the real world. I liked writing about someone with a naughty streak because I could draw on my own (mostly buried) naughty streak. I also have a soft spot for the greedy Highway Rat – he is my favourite villain.

You have adapted your books for the stage, and film; and also performed them in literary festivals. How do you adapt the written word to other mediums?

I don't do most of the adapting myself. However, I perform a lot at book festivals and in theatres. They are fairly straightforward, word-for-word renditions of the originals. I feel that the ingredients that make a good show – excitement, humour and music – are fairly constant and universal.