While he is asleep, they sneak into his lair in the middle of the night. Even though the Wizard wakes up, they manage to cover him with honey and leaves, and then bind him up in a large spiderweb, and carry him to the rubbish dump, where they drop him into the garbage. 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. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading. Use the book to create a collection of rhyming words and phrases. Could you use these to create your own rhyming story? Superworm and Butterfly have been best friends since he was small and she was a caterpillar. They love helping the other garden animals: they save the baby toad from a major road, they entertain bored bees, rescue a beetle. It seems there’s no end to Superworm’s skills but he begins to get a bit too full of himself and he starts to ignore his friend.

Set up a worm playdough station for the kids to explore from Fantastic Fun and Learning. Frozen Dirt Square Dessert Then word of Superworm’s powers reaches the evil Wizard Lizard. He loves wearing his finest jewels and he’s so greedy he’s always searching for more. He realises Superworm could be a brilliant way to find buried treasure so he sends his henchman, the Crow, to kidnap Superworm. Superworm is a wonderfully unlikely comic hero. He’s a long, strong worm with amazing skills and a big heart who keeps on saving the day. But what happens when he gets too full of himself and starts to ignore his friends? 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. Create this super long puppet worm. He only likes to eat things that begin with the same sound! Make a WormeryThey requested me to read "Superworm" over and over again. They loved the Superworm chant and that there was a villain who needed to be defeated. The Magic Light animations are such an important part of the Christmas TV schedule, I’m so excited to be part of that tradition. Butterfly is a very determined character, and a loyal friend, and I’m looking forward to seeing her on BBC One on Christmas Day.” Cariad Lloyd (multiple voices) This book is a joy to read. Sure to put a smile on your face. There is just something fun and new about a superhero worm to the rescue!

For children's books, my guinea pigs to see if a book is good or not, I simply read it to my children. THEY tell me if the book is good or not, and when they don't say, the number of their requests for me to read the book are good indicators. I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books. Never fear Superworm is here - and he's wiggling to the rescue! He can be a lasso, a fishing-line, even a skipping-rope. Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler are the UK’s number one picture book pair and no story-time is complete without Julia’s perfect read-aloud rhyme and Axel’s unique artwork.From my perspective, I loved how the community banded together to save their super hero, which teaches our children that working together is important for success. Find out about the illustrator of the story. What other books has he illustrated? Which materials does he like to use? What questions would you like to ask him? I absolutely adore working with Magic Light on these Donaldson/Scheffler adaptations, as much as I love watching them on television when they’re finished. They perfectly capture the magic of the story books whilst transporting you even deeper into the magical world that Julia and Axel have created. This year’s adaptation of Superworm is as joyous and funny as ever." Rainy Day Mum shows us how to make a wormery so that we can observe what worms do. A neat way to see how worms tunnel through the ground and the important role they play in our environment. Observe a Worm Make a list of words and phrases that are used to describe Superworm. Can you compare these to other descriptions of superhero characters?

In this delightful story he saves a toad who has hopped onto the road, helps the bees stop feeling bored and saves a beetle that falls down a well. All the toads, beetles, bees and bugs clap and cheer Superworm; 'Hip, hip, hooray for SUPERWORM' is their chant. 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). I was excited to play the narrator because I love all the Julia Donaldson books. I’ve read them to my children over the years and I love watching them at Christmas time when they’re on the telly. So I was thrilled that [Magic Light] asked me. The films are just lovely and they come out at the time of year when you can all be cosy and at home and watching something together. I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.Axel is brilliant at drawing bugs and had sneaked a lot of them into the pictures of our previous books together – so I decided to write a story all about them. Also, I thought it was time to create a real villain – Wizard Lizard is definitely not a loveable rogue, and Axel has made him look really frightening. Based on the book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, Superworm starsPatricia Allison, Rob Brydon, Olivia Colman, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Matt Smith. It's directed by Jac Hamman and Sarah Scrimgeour and produced by Martin Pope and Barney Goodland with animation services by Blue Zoo. Synopsis Julia Donaldson is the author of some of the world's best-loved children's books, including the modern classic The Gruffalo, which has sold over 17 million copies worldwide. She also writes fiction, as well as poems, plays and songs - and her brilliant live shows are always in demand. Julia was the UK Children’s Laureate 2011-13, is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and in 2019 was honoured with an CBE for services to Literature. Julia and her husband Malcolm divide their time between West Sussex and Edinburgh.