Book Info
Loading other formats...Format
Hardback32 pages
Author's Website
www.juliadonaldson.co.uk/Illustrated By
Axel SchefflerPublisher
ScholasticPublication date
1st September 2008ISBN
9781407106175Children's Author 'Like-for-Like' recommendations
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Stick Man
Written by: Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by: Axel Scheffler
This title is in stock
Lovereading4kids Price: £8.24
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Julia Eccleshare's comment:
Creators of The Gruffalo, best selling author/ illustrator Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are back with another bestseller on their hands. “Stick Man lives in the family tree/ with Stick Lady love/ And his children three”. But one day Stick Man is pounced on by a dog. Help! This is not what Stick Man wants….While others find many ignominious uses for Stick Man – a bat, a pen, a bow and a boomerang among others – Stick Man does all he can to find his way back home…And, happily, he does! A brilliant visual treat.
The Lovereading comment:
This new picture book classic from the award-winning creators of The Gruffalo is dazzlingly original with a touching and witty rhyming story featuring an unforgettable hero with real sticking power.
Who is Julia Eccleshare ?
Synopsis
Stick Man by Julia DonaldsonStick Man lives in the family tree with his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three. But it's dangerous being a Stick Man. A dog wants to play with him, a swan builds her nest with him. He even ends up on a fire. Join Stick Man on his troublesome journey back to the family tree.
Below are some answers to questions we asked Julia about her book Stick Man.
Q. Stick Man is a very original, unusual character. How did you dream him up?
A. When Axel Scheffler illustrated The Gruffalo’s Child, he gave her a little stick doll which she carries around with her. I think that’s what gave me the idea.
Q. The book is full of read-aloud rhymes. Were there any particular rhymes that you found difficult to make? Do you have a favourite?
A. I like if possible to include a refrain, but they can be hard to write. I’m quite pleased with the Stick Man refrain, which goes: “I’m Stick Man, I’m Stick Man, I’M STICK MAN, that’s me,
And I want to go home to the family tree.”
(The family tree is a real tree, where he lives with his Stick Lady and the three stick children.)
Q. At one point, Stick Man is mistaken for an ordinary stick and thrown in the river in a game of Pooh-sticks. Did you like playing Pooh-sticks as a child? Are there any other outdoor games you remember from childhood?
A. I’m still always up for a game of Pooh-sticks. I used to be a great tree-climber too. When my own children were little our favourite outdoor game was The Three Billy Goats Gruff which we would act out whenever we found a bridge over a stream (and that gave me the idea for another picture book, The Troll, which comes out next year).
Q. The adventures of Stick Man take place through spring, summer, autumn and winter. What’s your favourite season?
A. As a child it was always autumn, because of the colourful crunchy leaves, but now I love spring best.
Q. Puppets of the characters in Stick Man are being created for your touring shows. Are you excited to meet your creations in 3D?
A. Yes. The Stick Man puppet is wonderfully bendy, with a little sprig of leaves and a mouth which can open and close. And the stick children are three really sweet finger puppets.
Q. Stick Man is such a brave adventurer – he even manages to save Christmas! Do you think he’ll be back for more adventures in further books?
A. Hmm – I’m not a great one for sequels – but mind you, I said that about The Gruffalo yet went on to write The Gruffalo’s Child, so you never know…
About The Author
Waterstone's Children's Laureate 2012 - 2014.
Click here to read an article from The Telegraph where Julia outlines outlines her manifesto as the new Children’s Laureate.
You can also follow the Children's Laureate's blog - click here.
Julia Donaldson is the author of over 150 books for children and her 1999 book The Gruffalo, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is now a children's classic and publishing phenomenon, selling 3 million copies worldwide. She is also the Patron of Artlink Central, a charity which puts artists, musicians and storytellers into schools, hospitals, prisons and community spaces to work with children and adults and help them develop their talent and creativity.
Julia Donaldson was selected as the Children’s Laureate 2011-2013, and was awarded an MBE just days after the announcement. Julia lives in Glasgow with her husband, Malcolm, and their family. Below are the answers to some questions we asked Julia.
Q. When did you decide to be a writer?
A. For my fifth birthday, my father gave me a very fat book called The Book of a Thousand Poems. I loved it. I read the poems, recited them, learnt them, and then started making up some of my own. Although I wanted to be a poet all those years ago, I later decided I would rather go on the stage. That didn’t quite work out, so I did other jobs – teaching and publishing. But somehow I’ve ended up doing what I wanted to do when I was five years old. I have a theory that this happens to quite a lot of people.
Q. When did you start to write books?
A. In 1993, when one of my songs, ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’ was made into a book. Before that I wrote songs for children’s television.
Q. Your book Tiddler is coming out in paperback. What gave you the idea for that story?
A. I’ve been snorkelling a few times and love the colourful underwater world of fish and coral. Also, I often used to be late for school and was quite good at making up excuses, like Tiddler.
Q. How many books have you written?
A: I’ve just counted, and I make it 152! That sounds a lot but 60 of those are very short phonic reading books for schools, called Songbirds.
Q. Have you written any longer books?
A. Yes. I’ve written three chapter books about naughty Princess Mirror-Belle, who comes out of a mirror, and a novel called The Giants and the Joneses, about three children who are captured by a girl giant.
Q. What are your hobbies?
A. Walking, cycling, playing the piano, singing. I’m also interested in wild flowers and fungi.
Q. Do you have any pets?
A. I have three cats. Campsie is female, and Gizmo and Goblin are her big tough sons. Their favourite hobby is going in the garden, getting their paws muddy and then walking all over whatever I have just been writing. (And they gave me the idea for yet another book, Tabby McTat.)
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