Julia Donaldson: The Gruffalo hogs too much attention

Julia Donaldson and the Gruffalo

For 25 years children around the world have enjoyed the story of a frightening woodland creature with terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws.

Since 1999 The Gruffalo, which also has knobbly knees, turned-out toes and a poisonous wart at the end of his nose, has become a firm family favourite.

Together with its sequel, The Gruffalo's Child, it has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and been turned into an animation for the BBC.

But Julia Donaldson, who wrote the story while she lived in Glasgow, told BBC Scotland News she thought The Gruffalo "hogs too much attention".

The author of 210 books, including Room on the Broom and Tabby McTat, said it was "amazing" that the book had had such an impact.

"I think The Gruffalo's the one everyone has heard of, even people who haven't read the book," she told BBC Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live.

"To be honest, what I like is when people single out one of my other books as their favourite as I think The Gruffalo's a bit spoilt.

"He hogs too much of the attention really."

The Gruffalo has become a favourite of families around the world since it was published in 1999

To mark the anniversary of the book, Donaldson visited the Angus primary school where she first read the story to children in 1995 - before it was even published.

She dedicated the book to the children at Auchterhouse Primary School when it was published four years later, after a "lovely" visit.

But the author, who is orginally from Hampstead, London, said that when she wrote it, she had no expectations of success.

The 75-year-old said: " I didn't really think it was going to get published. I had no idea. I had had quite a few rejections from other stories I'd written."

Originally, the book was going to be about a tiger, but Donaldson couldn't find a word to rhyme with it.

The Gruffalo was created as its name rhymes with “Oh help, oh no!”.

Donaldson said the idea for the story was in her head for about a year before she started writing it - and her children helped out.

"I got about halfway and got a bit stuck and one of my sons said 'Go on mum, I really like it'," she said.

"Another of my sons did say 'Why are the animals running away from the mice, why don't they quickly eat the mice?'

"So that's why I put in the bit about 'I'm meeting The Gruffalo here' and he loves eating foxes or snakes or whatever.

"It didn't really take that long but it was a while before it was published because it sat on one publisher's desk for about a year."

Axel Scheffler illustrates many of Donaldson's books, including The Gruffalo

Since then the book has been translated into 107 languages and dialects.

Donaldson was Children's Laureate between 2011 and 2013, and she was appointed CBE for services to literature in 2018.

As well as writing, she often performs at book festivals and theatres, getting children to act out her stories.

She is currently working with the Scottish Book Trust to offer more books to children and families visiting food banks across Scotland.