Books with author Donaldson

A fantastic bathtime adventure from the stellar picture-book partnership of Julia Donaldson and David Roberts – perfect for reading together.When everyone has left the house in the morning, the bath toys spring into action and head off on exciting adventures in their magical flying bath! From giving a muddy piglet a shower to putting out a fire for a frightened baboon, they have water at the ready for any emergency – but they're always home for the children's bathtime at the end of the day. With simple rhyming speech-bubble text from bestselling author Julia Donaldson, The Flying Bath is great to read aloud and perfect for developing reading confidence. This playful and adventurous story is brought to life by the richly detailed, sumptuous artwork of award-winning illustrator David Roberts, completing this irresistible book for young readers.Enjoy the other stories by Julia Donaldson and David Roberts: The Troll, Jack and the Flumflum Tree, Tyrannosaurus Drip and The Cook and the King.

A deliciously funny cooking adventure from the stellar picture-book partnership of Julia Donaldson and David Roberts. There once was a very hungry kingWho needed a cook like anything . . .. . . but the king is very fussy; he tries all the cooks in the kingdom, but no one is good enough. Then he spots Wobbly Bob. Maybe Bob can whip up his favourite dinner? But how will Bob be able to cook for the king when he’s scared of . . . well, everything?!Discover how the hungry king helps Wobbly Bob face his fears on a cooking adventure across the land and sea.The Cook and the King is a brilliantly funny story from the award-winning picture book duo Julia Donaldson and David Roberts, creators of Tyrannosaurus Drip. With fun rhyming verse and richly detailed illustrations, this is sure to become a firm favourite with children and adults alike.Enjoy more stories from Julia Donaldson and David Roberts: The Troll, Tyrannosaurus Drip, Jack and the Flumflum Tree and The Flying Bath.

You're never too young to meet a Gruffalo! Turn the satisfyingly chunky board pages and look through the peep-holes to meet all your favourite characters from the deep dark wood.Perfect for tiny Gruffalo fans, Say Hello to the Gruffalo is part of a charming range of books specially created for babies featuring Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's iconic creation, the Gruffalo. Designed to appeal to even the youngest child, simple patterns and bright colours combine with Axel Scheffler's instantly recognizable artwork to keep babies entertained for hours.Also available in the Gruffalo Baby series: Gruffalo, What Can You Hear?.

Toby Makes a New Friend: Toddler Books for ages 3-5Join Maggie, Toby and friends on an exciting new adventure!The competition is on! Toby the Tugboat and Maggie the racing yacht want to see who is the fastest, so they race all the way across the harbour. Who do you think will win? Will anything happen along the way? Or will this race lead to a whole new adventure?Join Toby and his friends in a toddler book that takes you on an adventure out to sea. You’ll meet a new friend or two, play hide and seek, and learn more about the beautiful creatures that inhabit the ocean.Early Reader Books with a Life LessonToby Makes A New Friend is an excellent first reader that also has a special lesson for little ones. The lesson this toddler book beautifully illustrates is that life is not about who is the fastest or the best; it’s about what you learn a long the way. There are also several interesting and educational snippets and words of wisdom from Toby’s friend, professor Mike Gull the seagull, so it’s a learning experience all round.Toby Makes a New Friend is suitable for:Kids of book age 3-5A kindergarten bookEarly readerLearning to readA life skills teaching aidLearn About the Sea With A Children’s Book Toby Makes a New Friend is an excellent toddler book for little ones who like the sea, or have a sense of adventure. The characters come to life on the brightly illustrated pages, and you’ll meet not just Toby and Maggie, but Mr Heavy the crane, Larry Lorry, Brightly the Lighthouse and sailboats Skittle and Scant too. Each character brings something special to this early reader, and as an added plus you’ll find out more about dolphins when Toby encounters them in the water.

The Rhyming Rabbit loves to make up entertaining poems, inspired by everything he sees, but the other rabbits don’t appreciate his talent for rhyme. Sad and lonely, the Rhyming Rabbit sets off one starry night all on his own – will he ever find someone to share his poems with?The Rhyming Rabbit is a clever rhyming adventure from the stellar picture book partnership of Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks, creators of What the Ladybird Heard. With brilliant rhyming verse, bright and distinctive illustrations and a gorgeously glittery cover, this story is a delight to read aloud.Enjoy all the stories from Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks: Sharing a Shell, The Princess and the Wizard, The Rhyming Rabbit, The Singing Mermaid, Sugarlump and the Unicorn, Princess Mirror-Belle and the Dragon Pox, What the Ladybird Heard, What the Ladybird Heard Next, What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday and The Girl, the Bear and the Magic Shoes.

Toby’s Big Surprise: Picture Books for Toddlers The “Have-to-Have” Children’s Book Of The Year!Join Toby the Big Little Tugboat on an adventure in the harbour in a colourful, easy to read children’s book. In Toby’s Big Surprise you’ll meet Larry Lorry, Andy the Aeroplane, Maggie and other colourful characters, and you’ll find out what the surprise is that Toby has been hiding! The little tugboat may have been missing for a few days, but when he sees his friends again, he’s better than ever; or so he thinks.Early Reader Books with a Life LessonToby’s Big Surprise has a wonderful message in it for kids, and guided by the wise words of the Seagull, Professor Mike Gull, this children’s book offers a valuable take-home lesson.The lesson in the story is to like someone for who they are, and not the shiny new toys that they have. In this early reader the idea is beautifully incorporated, and is sure to be remembered by little ones who are keen to learn in a fun and educational way.Toby’s Big Surprise is perfect as a:First reader for kids of book age 3-5An educational children’s bookA kindergarten bookFun bedtime storyKids learning to readToby’s Adventures ContinueToby’s Big Surprise is the first book in this early reader books series, and it’s packed full of characters all with their own unique personalities and special skills. Not only does this children’s book offer a little life lesson, it also teaches children about the boats that you’ll find in a harbour, and what they do.If you enjoy Toby’s Big Surprise, then the other toddler books in the series are a must-have too.

Storm on Savage Mountain is a coming of age novel about an almost fifteen-year-old, Crissy Patrick, who is still uncomfortable with her father’s new family, but finds herself responsible for the safety of her four young step siblings during a killer blizzard in the last year of the 20th century. Challenges abound for the youngsters while stranded on their mountaintop farm. With their parents unable to get home, the children struggle to survive and save their farm animals, realizing they must work together. Crissy learns she can do whatever is necessary in an emergency and that there is more to family than blood.

The story of the adorable dragon with a heart of gold is now available as a gift edition board book!What do dragons learn at Madam Dragon's school?How to fly . . . How to roar . . . How to breathe fire!Zog is the most eager student in the class, but he's also the most accident prone. With each test (and each bump, bruise, or scrape), his dream of earning a gold star seems further away than ever.But a mysterious girl keeps coming to his rescue. And when Zog faces his toughest test yet, she may be just the person to help Zog win classroom glory!

While some may think that handwriting is archaic skill in a keyboard world, researchers have learned that teaching children penmanship benefits brain development and enhances their ability to think.“When we write, a unique neural circuit is automatically activated,” said Stanislas Dehaene, a psychologist at the Collège de France in Paris. “There is a core recognition of the gesture in the written word, a sort of recognition by mental simulation in your brain.” https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.htmlWhat most Americans do not know is that the handwriting they learned was created by a ten-year boy who lived at the edge of the Northwest Territory.In 1810, Platt Rogers Spencer eyed the angle of the rolling waves of Lake Erie and the oval pebbles scattered across the strand. With a quill, Spencer transferred these common shapes found in nature into a new style of penmanship. Instead of only moving his wrist as Spencer wrote, he employed his shoulder muscles to move the quill. The young penman created a uniquely American form of handwriting that would reflect the vibrant spirit of his nascent country, and for the rest of his life, Spencer promoted the script that bore his name. The Father of American Penmanship published the first copy books that featured his script so that school teachers didn’t need to prepare small paper slips with examples of letters for their students to replicate. Spencer’s books were the most commonly used in American schools. Believing in practical education, he founded the first business college in Pittsburgh, PA and also enrolled women in his Log Cabin Seminary so that they could train to become clerks.When not teaching Spencer also wrote and published poetry. A reformed alcoholic, he lectured on behave of the Temperance Movement and promoted the end of slavery. His artistic mind also envisioned how to utilize the shapes from his letters to create “off-hand flourishing”, a pen and ink folk art that creates graceful birds, cartouches and sometimes leaping stags. After his death, Spencer’s children continued to teach his script, publish new editions of his curriculum, and kept his legacy alive.“We never give much thought to handwriting these days, especially as the ubiquitous keyboard has lessened the call for it and fewer children are taught penmanship. But in nineteenth century America, Platt Rogers Spencer developed a curriculum for legible handwriting that schools adopted. The Spencerian style, as it came to be known, provided an essential uniformity in communication. The story of the man, his method, and widespread influence he had in helping Americans make their written thoughts understood is neatly told in Platt Rogers Spencer. In the era before typewriters and computers, handwriting mattered and Joan Donaldson’s Kindle Single will provide deserved attention to Spencer’s achievement.”—James McGrath Morris, author of Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power.