The Baddies Award-winning team by Julia Donaldson (author) and Axel Scheffler (illustrator)

“Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are the Lennon and McCartney of children’s publishing” Sunday TimesThis fabulous picture book from superstar author and illustrator Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is a riot of slapstick fun and silliness. 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. When a little girl moves into a nearby cottage, the Baddies can’t wait to scare her out of her wits. But the little girl quickly shows them that you don’t have to be big to be brave, and baddies don’t always win.

A brilliant paperback edition for new and old fans alike
Perfect read-aloud rhyming text and stunning pictures on every page with lots of details to spot
Julia and Axel are the team that have created picture book favourites such as The Gruffalo, Stick Man, Zog and The Smeds and The Smoos – all of which have been made into animated films premiering on BBC1 Christmas Day
The animated film of Tabby McTat stars voice artists including Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who) as the narrator, Rob Brydon (Gavin and Stacey) as Fred, Sope Dirisu (Gangs of London) as Tabby McTat, alongside Cariad Lloyd, Joanna Scanlan and Susan Wokoma.
Look out for Jonty Gentoo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler in 2024.

More praise for The Baddies:‘[The Baddies] is every bit as charming and wonderful and funny as you’d imagine’Nihal Arthanyake, BBC Radio 5 Live‘A mean ghost, witch and troll try, yet hilariously fail, to frighten a girl in this brilliant new tale from the superstar picture book duo’The Bookseller‘Keeps little ones grinning and guffawing from the first colour-soaked page to the last hilarious line of this fresh, funny and exuberant rhyming story … With Donaldson’s heartwarming, inspirational messages about being brave and standing up to bullies, a wise and enchanting story in a rhyme perfectly created for reading aloud, and Scheffler’s stunning and richly detailed illustrations providing lots to spot on every page, this is a creative partnership made in children’s reading heaven!’Lancashire Evening Post

Our October 2022 Ages 5-6 Book of the Month

Our Book of the Month for Age 5+ is The Baddies, the brand-new picture book from superstar author-illustrator duo Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The Baddies are the meanest and the nastiest ghost, witch, and troll in the land. But when The Baddies set their sights on a new little girl to scare, she soon teaches them that you don’t have to be big to be brave, and that baddies don’t always win.

This title is a riot of slapstick fun and silliness, sure to entice even the most reluctant of readers. With read-aloud rhyming text, this title is perfect to further help develop reading ability and stunning pictures, with lots of details to spot, encourages engagement.

Tasha - Book Club Editor, 0-6

Product Details

Catalogue number

2060 in Schools Catalogue 2024–25, 81 in ROW Primary May 2024 and 50 in ROW Primary March 2024

Format

Paperback

ISBN

9780702325069

Publisher

Alison Green Books

Date published

September 14th, 2023

Other details

32 pages

Condition

New

Available in these packs

10books
Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler Picture Book Pack

usd prices

Price: $112.40

gbp prices

Price: £73.00
5books
Library Refresh: Year 1 Pack
New

usd prices

Price: $47.05

gbp prices

Price: £30.56

Author/Illustrator

Julia Donaldson

Julia Donaldson is author of many of today’s best-loved picture books including The Gruffalo and Stick Man. Best known for her collaborations with Axel Scheffler, each of these vivid rhyming stories is a triumph of imagination. She was also the Children’s Laureate 2011-2013.

More about Julia: “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.

I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Axel Scheffler

Axel Scheffler was born in 1957 in Hamburg, Germany. At school, although always good at art, he never really considered a career in illustration. But long before he began his professional life, he had won his first drawing prize for an international chocolate company – his prize was a cuddly lilac cow.

Axel went on from school to study History of Art at the University of Hamburg – but he didn’t like the course and decided to leave. Knowing that he wanted to live in another country and learn a second language, he moved to England to study illustration at the Bath Academy of Art.

After graduating with a first class degree, Axel moved to London where he began illustrating for a variety of English and German advertising companies, magazines and newspapers. He took his portfolio to a number of publishers and Faber commissioned him to illustrate The Piemakers by Helen Cresswell and The Bottle Rabbit by Bernard McCabe. In 1989, Walker asked Axel to illustrate a text by Jon Blake, You’re a Hero, Daley B.

A writer called Julia Donaldson was also writing songs for Playdays at this time and her song A Squash and a Squeeze was commissioned to be a picture book. Axel Scheffler was recommended as an illustrator for the text and an award-winning team was created.

Their next book, The Gruffalo, was published in March 1999 and has already become a modern classic, selling more than 2 million copies worldwide and translated into over 20 languages. Axel also continues to illustrate for other authors as well, including Ian Whybrow and David Henry Wilson.

Axel has achieved worldwide acclaim for his humorous illustrations, and his books have been translated into over 29 languages. He has enjoyed particular success in his award-winning picture book collaborations with Julia Donaldson, but is also the best-selling illustrator of novelty books such as The Bedtime Bear. In 2006 he was been called upon to design Gordon Brown’s annual Christmas card!

Still living in London, Axel makes frequent visits to continental Europe. His hobbies include walking, cooking and reading and beadwork.