The Go-Away Bird - Album

Julia Donaldson has written some of the world's best-loved children's books, including The Gruffalo and the What the Ladybird Heard adventures. She was Children's Laureate 2011-13 and has a CBE for Services to Literature. Julia and her husband Malcolm divide their time between West Sussex and Edinburgh, and love to travel. Julia was very happy to hear the Go-Away bird's call for herself on a trip to South Africa, but is less keen to meet a hungry Get-You bird.
Catherine Rayner is an award-winning author and illustrator. She studied Illustration at Edinburgh College of Art, and still lives in the city with her husband and two sons. Catherine was named as one of BookTrust's ten Best New Illustrators in 2008, and in 2009 she won the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. Catherine loves animals and has a horse, a cat and a goldfish which all inspire her work but, so far, no birds.
The Go-Away bird is a real bird that lives in Africa. It has smoky grey feathers, a long tail and a crest on its head that can be raised up when the bird is excited. The Go-Away bird makes its nest from thin, often thorny twigs. It is named after its call, which sounds as if it is shouting "Go away ! ". But in spite of this, Go-Away birds can sometimes be found in groups of up to 20 or even 30 - so perhaps it is quite friendly after all !