Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson on library closures

Children's Laureate and Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson has spoken to Newsround about her worry over library closures.

She told Nel: "Libraries are really the very best place to discover what books you like. You can borrow them for free.

"But in those areas without libraries, where are those children going to read? Because so many bookshops have closed."

Around 60 libraries have shut in the last year and hundreds more are facing closure.

Councils say they can't afford to run them anymore.

Julia Donaldson's so concerned she's written to the government about the issue.

She said: "It's up to the government to take notice. They sound like a Dalek. They keep saying, 'We are monitoring the situation'."

Culture Minister Ed Vaizey told Newsround: "If we are worried that a council is going to close too many libraries, we do have the power to have a look at what the council's doing and perhaps suggest some changes.

"What I can assure people is that the government does look at all these proposals."