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Bé Gì - Đâu
Its a Little Baby
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
Hardcover
Published January 1, 2022
1 person is currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Julia Donaldson
1,231 books1,908 followersGrowing up
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.
Busking and books
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.
The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.
I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.
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. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.
My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.
I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.
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.
When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).
Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.
I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.
Busking and books
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.
The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.
I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.
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. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.
My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.
I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.
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.
When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 16, 2016
One of the best things about having a book blog is the opportunity to review new children's books with my son! Oliver has only recently turned 2 years old, and he loves to read! (I wonder where he gets that from..?) We read together numerous times every day and he just loves turning the pages and attempting to mimic the words when I say them.
It's a Little Baby is an absolutely delightful lift the flap book with gorgeous illustrations and a cute poem/song that my son just adores!
"Somebody's hiding. I wonder who. It's a little baby and he's waving at you." The babies do different things on each page under the flap, such as waving or clapping, and the child is asked to mimic the actions of the baby. It is accompanied by a song online that is available through the website or by scanning the QR code on the back cover.
Oliver has so much fun pulling the flap and seeing what the little baby is doing! He constantly yells "BABY" when he pulls the flap to see the baby. He also loves the illustrations of the dog, cat, and other animals that are throughout the pages, and he enjoys pointing, waving and dancing with the babies. He likes the accompanying song and dances and twirls around the room whenever I play it. It is his go-to book at the moment and is constantly produced whenever I ask him to "grab a book to read".
From my perspective I think its adorable. The baby illustrations are so cute and I really love seeing how much fun my son has with it. My son is slightly behind in his speech, so I love anything that encourages him to say words and copy actions. This book is now known as the "baby book"!
Would I recommend "It's a Little Baby"?
Absolutely! I have no doubt that any young child will love this book with the fun rhymes, gorgeous illustrations and fun book flaps revealing cute little babies! The only thing that I don't like about it is that I have to read it to him at least 20 times a day!
No hesitation! 5 Stars! Fantastic book!
Many thanks to PanMacmillan Australia for a copy of It's a Little Baby in exchange for an honest review from Oliver and myself.
For more reviews check out my blog
www.booksbabiesbeing.com
Twitter
www.twitter.com/BBB_Mel
Facebook
www.facebook.com/booksbabiesbeing
It's a Little Baby is an absolutely delightful lift the flap book with gorgeous illustrations and a cute poem/song that my son just adores!
"Somebody's hiding. I wonder who. It's a little baby and he's waving at you." The babies do different things on each page under the flap, such as waving or clapping, and the child is asked to mimic the actions of the baby. It is accompanied by a song online that is available through the website or by scanning the QR code on the back cover.
Oliver has so much fun pulling the flap and seeing what the little baby is doing! He constantly yells "BABY" when he pulls the flap to see the baby. He also loves the illustrations of the dog, cat, and other animals that are throughout the pages, and he enjoys pointing, waving and dancing with the babies. He likes the accompanying song and dances and twirls around the room whenever I play it. It is his go-to book at the moment and is constantly produced whenever I ask him to "grab a book to read".
From my perspective I think its adorable. The baby illustrations are so cute and I really love seeing how much fun my son has with it. My son is slightly behind in his speech, so I love anything that encourages him to say words and copy actions. This book is now known as the "baby book"!
Would I recommend "It's a Little Baby"?
Absolutely! I have no doubt that any young child will love this book with the fun rhymes, gorgeous illustrations and fun book flaps revealing cute little babies! The only thing that I don't like about it is that I have to read it to him at least 20 times a day!
No hesitation! 5 Stars! Fantastic book!
Many thanks to PanMacmillan Australia for a copy of It's a Little Baby in exchange for an honest review from Oliver and myself.
For more reviews check out my blog
www.booksbabiesbeing.com
www.twitter.com/BBB_Mel
www.facebook.com/booksbabiesbeing
November 20, 2018
My 16 month old loves this book. She loves any book with flaps to open but this one is really engaging because it encourages the baby to do the actions. We listened to the song and joined in with the clapping, peeping and waving. It led to lots of dancing, so we both had lots of fun with it.
October 9, 2025
I saw this one on Play School, and my one year old just smiled and laughed the whole time so I grabbed a copy. She still loves it. The repetition and actions are perfect for little learning minds and she giggles every time we read it. Which is a lot.
July 27, 2016
A cute book with liftable flaps and illustrations of babies doing different actions. My son enjoyed clapping and waving at this book (the only two actions from the book he has done pat so far) and of course peeking beneath the flaps to find babies hidden beneath.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews