Books about animals
Lots of Julia Donaldson books feature animal characters - from whales to ladybirds, from monkeys to mice!
Here are some of our favourites of her animal themed books.
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The Snail and the Whale
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Macmillan Children's books
Interest age: 3-6
Reading age: 6+This book by the award-winning Gruffalo partnership is about a tiny snail who longs to see the world, and the enormous grey-blue humpback whale who gives him a lift on his tail.
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Tiddler
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Scholastic
Interest age: 3-6
Although he looks small and ordinary, Tiddler is a fish who loves to tell tall tales. But one day he is swept up in a fisherman's net and then thrown back in to an unfamiliar part of the sea.
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The Gruffalo
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Macmillan
Interest age: 1-5
In this much-loved picture book, a little mouse walks through the woods and encounters a fox, an owl and a snake.
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Tabby McTat
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Scholastic
Interest age: 4-6
Reading age: 6+A poetic story of love, adventure and music that demands to be read aloud or possibly sung, depending on the power of the reader's purr.
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Monkey Puzzle
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Axel Sheffler
Publisher: Macmillan Children's books
Interest age: 3-6
Reading age: 6+Monkey is lost in the jungle, so he asks Butterfly to help him find his mum. However, Butterfly cannot seem to understand that Monkey and his mum look alike!
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What the Ladybird Heard
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Lydia Monks
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 6+The animals on the farm are always noisy, all except for the ladybird who never says a word. But when burglars plot to steal the farmer's fine prize cow, the ladybird has a plan...
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Sharing a Shell
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Lydia Monks
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 2+
Reading age: 5+Poor crab has lost his shell, and nobody wants to share. But when he finally finds a shell of his own, he is surprised to find himself being asked to move over!
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Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Nick Sharratt
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 2-5
Reading age: 5+Join in the fun as all the animals come together for a chaotic dinner party! Tasty treats are on the menu - but unfortunately not all of the animals have very good table manners.
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Night Monkey Day Monkey
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Lucy Richards
Publisher: Farshore
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 6+Night Monkey and Day Monkey both live in the same jungle but their lives are worlds apart until one day Night Monkey wakes up in the day and Day Monkey wakes in the night.
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Follow the Swallow
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Pam Smy
Publisher: Farshore
Interest age: 4+
Reading age: 6+Chack the blackbird is brown but claims he will turn black and that the berries in the tree where he lives will turn orange, but Apollo the swallow doesn't believe him.
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The Rhyming Rabbit
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Lydia Monks
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 7+The Rhyming Rabbit isn’t like the other rabbits, he likes to make up rhymes about the world around him but not everyone is interested in hearing them.
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The Highway Rat
Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Alison Green Books
Interest age: 2+
Reading age: 6+This rhyming tale of a villainous Highway Rat is the latest book from Children’s Laureate Julian Donaldson and her Gruffalo collaborator Axel Scheffler. The Highway Rat, gallops along the highway stealing food from other animals – clover from a rabbit, nuts from a squirrel and even his own horse’s hay, until he encounters a cunning duck! Ea…
