There's an Owl in My Towel is a beautiful and engaging book for little ones from Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb, the creators of the bestselling The Paper Dolls and The Everyw... Read more It's a Little Baby is a beautiful and engaging lift-the-flap book for little ones from Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb, the creators of the bestselling The Paper Dolls and The ... Read more 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. As in tales of trying to find a prince for a daughter here the king exhausts the finish cooks in the land. He samples the dishes and none are exactly right. Then he notices a timid fellow in cook’s attire who would love the job but at each turn doesn’t have the confidence or courage to perform even the simplest of tasks. A laugh-out-loud pirate adventure from the stellar picture-book partnership of Julia Donaldson and David Roberts.

The Cook and the King' by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by David Roberts, is a cute story that shows how working together, and sometimes working alone with someone by your side, can lead to success. When the King hires Wobbly Bob to be his new cook, he gets more than he bargained for. Wobbly Bob tells the King from the moment he is hired that he is a “bit of a wimp” but would love the job. The King, eager to have someone fill the position, takes Bob on, but soon he finds himself catching the fish, chopping potatoes, frying everything up, and more. Wobbly Bob is too scared to do any of these things. The King, though, takes on the challenge, encouraging Wobbly Bob to let him help. In the end, the final product is made by the King, but he is shown to have enjoyed the process of working with Bob to do the work and make the food, priding Bob (and himself, by extension) on a job well done. Discover how the hungry king helps Wobbly Bob face his fears on a cooking adventure across the land and sea. 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?! As with all brilliant children’s books the final words are missing. You will have to listen carefully but a little voice will say “Again.” and if not too tired “Again please.” 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.This wasn't a problem as my six year old knew the story and was keen to asked to keep this book, The Cook And The King, which is a great story to read, the story tells how the King begins his search of finding a cook, but ends up employing Wobbly Bob who s anything but a cook! And what the king fails to realise is he does his own cooking but only once he’s caught his own fish, oh and dug up some potatoes to cut into chips to go with his fish. A very amusing, funny, witty and silly multi talented King indeed. From Julia Donaldson, bestselling author of The Gruffalo, and award-winning illustrator Yuval Zommer, comes a charming minibeast Cinderella story. Julia Donaldson is a recognised author of children’s stories. The Gruffalo being one most kids know without fail. So we are talking about a writer with some nous and clout. It seems her skills of making up stories has been passed onto her son who recounts his own made up tales at bedtime. The result of all this talent is The Cook and the King. I had not heard of it prior to reading it and I am not aware it is the name of a pub. I might be getting old but I haven’t regressed into children’s story books and one single verb sentences. The Paper Dolls is a stunning, lyrical story of childhood, memory and the power of imagination from Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo, and award-winning illustrator Rebec... Read more

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.

Bright, bold and accessible, this collection of rhymes and poems for children is perfect for joining in. There... Read more 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.

Written by Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo, and illustrated by prize-winning Karen George, Wake Up Do, Lydia Lou! is a gentle and playful bedtime read - full of fun sou... Read more A fantastic bathtime adventure from the stellar picture-book partnership of Julia Donaldson and David Roberts – perfect for reading together. 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?!Meet everyone's favourite crime-busting ladybird in this collection of four brilliantly funny stories from the bestselling What the Ladybird Heard series, read by Alexander Armstrong – perfect f... Read more

Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. A deliciously funny cooking adventure from the stellar picture-book partnership of Julia Donaldson and David Roberts. There was once a very hungry king, who needed a cook like anything... the story begins. But none of the applicants seem to match his high standards. Enter Wobbly Bob, the chef who would love to attempt all of the King's culinary challenges if only he dared. His chant of "I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm terribly scared!" was enjoyed by my Reception class. They seemed to understand the humour of the ending, that it was actually the King who had managed to prepare the delicious meal by helping Bob with every stage of the process, yet he ends up hiring him because he believed it was Bob who was the fantastic cook. As one of my 5 year olds so shrewdly observed:- " he doesn't need a cook after all, he can do it all himself!"