An enchanting tale told in catchy rhyming verses true to JD style, this story will capture the imagination of children and grown ups. I now have a 5 year old grand-daughter who is half Chinese, so I was delighted to find this Julia Donaldson version, especially as she is a big fan of the author.

This edition features a stunning redesigned cover, making it a must-have addition to the bookshelves of all Donaldson fans – big and small! I have used this book for two different topics (China and Traditional Tales) with two different year 2 classes and all have been captured by it. JD has stamped her distinctive rhythm into making this re-telling a very atmospheric book of how a little girl's life changes when she is given a magic brush which turns anything she paints into real life. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. I went to China Town in Manchester and purchased a real coolie hat some simple books with Chinese letter to copy.The beautiful illustrations and naturally rhyming text make for an interesting and imagination grabbing book. It is a story of a girl who is gifted a magic paintbrush and made to promise that she will always only paint for the poor. I am a retired Infant Teacher and I first came across this story published as a Ladybird book, and my pupils always enjoyed it. Must see if can find the Chinese brushes 5 in the box and the children loved to pretend they were magic and talk about what they would paint.

The big difference is that the main character is now female and so is easier for her to identify with. Julia Donaldson is the outrageously talented, prize-winning author of some of the world's best-loved children's books, including modern classics The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child , which together have sold over 17 million copies worldwide, and the hugely successful What the Ladybird Heard adventures. With her magic paintbrush, Shen can paint steaming pots full of fish and oysters to feed the hungry people in her village, but when the evil emperor hears of her gift he commands Shen to paint gold for him instead. The Magic Paintbrush is a traditional Chinese folktale, dealing with themes of justice and integrity. In this ten-session Writing Root, which we suggest will take 3 weeks to cover, the children discover a magic paintbrush and are asked what they would paint with it.

Complimented by beautiful water colour illustrations which brings out the purity of the underlying message, the story gently builds up to a dramatic climax.

Her other books include The Hospital Dog illustrated by Sara Ogilvie, The Christmas Pine illustrated by Victoria Sandøy and the hugely successful What the Ladybird Heard adventures illustrated by Lydia Monks.This was one of the stories included my show “The Gruffalo, the Witch and the Warthog” which we performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 and took to a few other theatres. She is determined to keep her promise to paint only for the poor, but how can she match the emperor's mighty power? As well as writing and illustrating wonderfully quirky books, Joel is a keen banjo player and adores comic strips. In The Magic Paintbrush, Julia Donaldson's brilliant verse combines with beautiful illustrations from Joel Stewart, creator of The Adventures Abney and Teal, to bring vibrant life to a traditional tale of how a little girl's integrity can withstand the corruption of power and greed.