The bestselling author of the Gruffalo is concerned about the limits coronavirus has placed on the lives of her young fans Julia Donaldson: one of her books sells about every 11 seconds in the UK. Photograph: Antony Sojka/The Guardian Julia Donaldson: one of her books sells about every 11 seconds in the UK. Photograph: Antony Sojka/The Guardian Sat 1 May 2021 01.00 EDT Children are not, says Julia Donaldson with a smile, going to write to her directly about the pandemic. Her assistant has just delivered a fresh pile of post, and the author shuffles through a stack of opened letters to make the point: âChildren arenât going to write, âOh dear I feel so lonely or overcrowdedâ â they are just writing their usual, âThere were four kittens called mitten, litten, nitten and kitten.â They are so sweet, some of the things they write.â