The Gruffalo

So The Gruffalo was given the ultimate accolade by being made into an animated film and shown on Christmas Day.  Good call. It should be the law that producers choose a picture book every year to feature in this way.  My favourite from last year was Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. I suggest The Jolly Postman by the Ahlbergs next.

I hope book sales of The Gruffalo increase tenfold as a result of the film, not because Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler haven’t sold enough copies already but because the TV version of the story might encourage parents to buy it in book form.  It is the perfect story for a grown up to read to a child over and over again until the grown up wants scream and hide it deep down the side of the settee and the kid knows it off by heart.

The Gruffalo is a classic because the prose has a rhythm and pace that make it easy for the reader to read out loud. ‘A mouse took a stroll through a deep, dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.’ It takes even the most self-conscious, reluctant parent by the hand and says: ’say it like this…’  It’s also beautifully illustrated and funny. Children love funny.

I went to London yesterday. I love going to London. As soon as I set foot on that platform in King’s Cross Station I feel giddy and excited.  I know I’m 54 and shouldn’t feel like a schoolkid on an outing but I can’t help it. There’s just something about the place… the hustle and bustle… the mixture of people from all walks of life… the joy of paying paying 30p to use the Ladies. What’s that about? 30p! I wouldn’t mind but the new cubicles are tiny - anyone over a size 16 with a full handbag is going to struggle to get in and I am not joking.

Anyhow, on to Vauxhall. Not the prettiest part of London but it’s where Walker Books are based so i don’t mind a stroll under the viaduct and a quick glance at the dodgy club for exotic dancers en route. Not during the day, anyway.

I met my fabulous editors, Caz and Annalie, for lunch. Everyone is delighted by how well Girls FC is doing and I was presented with the England Schools FA Handbook that had a full page advertisement showing all the first six Girls FC covers. Walker Books are sponsoring the U11s Girls Cup next year.  Forget South Africa - all the exciting stuff is going to be happening in England next May and June, I’m telling you.

As I was about to leave, a tall, distinguished man and a dark haired young woman said hello on their way past. There was a ripple of excitement and I asked who they were.  You never know who you’ll bump into in places like this. Last time it was Mel ‘Keeper’ Peet and this time… only Allan Ahlberg and his daughter Jessica. How immense is that?? The Ahlbergs!  In my world, that’s like royalty. We’re talking The Jolly Postman. Burglar Bill. Each Peach Pear Plum. Peepo! Classics.  Any kid who hasn’t got at least two of those titles in their bedroom is officially classed as deprived. Fact.

And that was all before 2.00PM.

After that, as if I hadn’t had enough stimulation for one day, I caught the tube to South Kensington.  Destination: Drayton Gardens, HQ of the Society of Authors. The Society of Authors is like a union for writers where we can get advice on what to do if our agent turns out to be insane or other writers nick our ideas and things like that. They also hold meetings, which was why I was going - just in case you were wondering.

By now it was dusk.  Off Old Brompton Road, beautiful streets of Regency houses gleamed like rows of perfect white teeth.  One house had a Christmas wreath hanging from its front door, tiny striped candy canes dotted round it. It was easy to imagine the Banks family from Mary Poppins living there, or, if I let my eyes drift higher to the attic bedrooms, Sara Crew, the Little Princess.  Old Brompton Road is chocolate box stuff.

The meeting was about publishing in the digital age. Cally Poplak, an editor at Egmont, gave an inspirational talk on the future of books. In a nutshell, forget words on paper, think handsets. Books on Nintendo DS Games. Books on iphones etc. She also stressed the importance of writers blogging - ha - had I not blogged about blogging on my last blog?  I am so ahead of myself.

Before I left I made sure I used the loo. No way was I paying 30p again in King’s Cross.