The Baddies: a wickedly funny picture book from the creators of The Gruffalo

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The Baddies are the meanest, nastiest ghost, witch and troll in the land. They just adore being bad, and fight over who is the worst. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - She was the UK Children’s Laureate 2011–13 and has been honoured with a CBE for Services to Literature. When a little girl moves into a nearby cottage, the Baddies can’t wait to scare her out of her wits. 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.

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). Julia also writes fiction, including the Princess Mirror-Belle series, illustrated by Lydia Monks, as well as poems, plays and songs – and her brilliant live shows are always in demand. 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. The latest offering from the A Team in picture books - Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. This one focuses on a trios of 'baddies' who aren't really good at being bad. They try their best but it's just not good (or bad) enough. The girl in the story is either unaware or just not at all bothered by their attempts to scare her. Instead, the Baddies all just look rather ridiculous.Premise/plot: Three villains or "baddies" scheme to steal a little girl's handkerchief. Will any of them succeed? First sentence: There once lived a troll and a ghost and a witch. They were horrible baddies all three. They never said sorry or thank you or please, and their hearts were as hard as could be. With Julia Donaldson’s (author of The Gruffalo) trademark quirky humour and rhyming text and Axel Scheffler’s detailed illustrations, there are lots of fun things to spot as you read and reread the text. Published just in time for Halloween, I had great hopes for this story featuring a ghost and a witch (and a troll). Of course, the little mouse saves the day and rids the woods of our pesky villains, and we all sleep more soundly at night.

You have to understand that when I see a new Julia Donaldson picture book, I'm am fully prepared to be blown away by her story. The woman is a genius!!! Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments LoveReading4Kids exists because books change lives, and buying books through LoveReading4Kids means you get to change the lives of future generations, with 25% of the cover price donated to schools in need. Join our community to get personalised book suggestions, extracts straight to your inbox, 10% off RRPs, and to change children’s lives. 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.

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.