Bestselling Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson raises funds for Chichester children's charity

Julia Donaldson – author of some of the world’s best-loved children’s books including the ever-popular Gruffalo, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary – entertained a full-house at Chichester Festival Theatre to raise funds for Children’s BookFest, the Chichester-based charity that takes authors into local schools and provides books to foodbanks in order to inspire a love of reading.

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Julia, a former Children’s Laureate, is a champion for supporting children in learning how to read, recognising the life-changing benefits of literacy. This was her first event with Children’s BookFest and it helped the charity raise over £5,000.

Penny Tomlinson, Co-Founder and Trustee of Children’s BookFest, said:

“We are hugely grateful to Julia for taking the time to support our charity – and what a wonderfully entertaining event it was!”

Julia Donaldson with young readers at the Children's BookFest event

“When children get to meet real-life authors, it helps to demystify the art of writing and allows them to understand that they too can create beautiful worlds with words.”

She added:

“We are committed to encouraging children of all ages to read books, opening their minds and promoting a love and appreciation of the power of a story. In order to maintain our current provision in Chichester and Bognor Regis we need to raise a minimum of £50k a year, and there are many more schools on our waiting list.”

About Children’s BookFest (CBF)

Malcolm and Julia Donaldson with CBF Trustee, Jen Rogers

The link between childhood book-ownership and a happy, healthy life is well-established, yet research by the National Literacy Trust shows that 1 in 15 children live in homes without any books at all. CBF seeks to address this shocking statistic via their signature BookFests, by providing books to local foodbanks and through their Outreach initiatives. Since it started in 2019, CBF has gifted over 20,000 new books to thousands of children and there are many more waiting for their help.

Children’s BookFest organises events throughout the year, and there will be a special event during the Festival of Chichester (15 June – 21 July 2024).

For further information please see childrensbookfest.com