To celebrate the opening of KidsFest 2015 in Hong Kong on January 14th, ABA Productions and Macmillan Children’s Books are delighted to announce that Julia Donaldson MBE, author of The Gruffalo and so many fantastic books, will attend a performance of The Snail and the Whale next week and be available to autograph copies of her books on Thursday January 22nd at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Wanchai between 2.30 and 4.00pm. Due to time constraints, members of the public wishing to attend will be strictly limited to one child with a parent or guardian. If you would like to attend, please: - Email [email protected] immediately with "KidsFest Julia" in the subject field together with your child's name and age, and the name of the parent/guardian who will be attending with them. - The first 250 applicants will be awarded a specific time slot and will be emailed with further details. - You will need to print the confirmation email from ABA Productions and bring with you on the day. This is a free event. For enquires, please call 2547 7150. Share, and tell your friends! Julia Donaldson Julia Catherine Donaldson MBE (born 16 September 1948) is a British writer, playwright and performer, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, which include The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man. She originally wrote songs for children's television but has concentrated on writing books since the words of one of her songs, "A Squash and a Squeeze", were made into a children's book in 1993. Of her 184 published works, 64 are widely available in bookshops. The remaining 120 are intended for school use and include her Songbirds phonic reading scheme, which is part of the Oxford Reading Tree.