Bath Festival Of Children's Literature: Julia Donaldson and the art of entertaining Donaldson, who was 64 this month, is on an inspiring national tour as Laureate, including visiting libraries which are under threat. Her show at Bath was all about entertaining children and she put on a thoroughly enjoyable show. There were songs (her husband Malcolm, a distinguished medical man, played guitar), actors in costume and performance theatre. Her nieces were on stage along with her sister Mary and Donaldson's baby great niece. "It's just to complete the Von Trapp thing," she joked. And, naturally, there was a huge round of applause, from children and adults alike, at the sight of the marvellous giant Gruffalo coming out on stage during a re-enactment of her children's classic. Hearing nearly a thousand people sing out . . . "a mouse took a stroll through the deep, dark wood" was very touching. One of the many attractions of the Festival is the range of shows being staged. Andy Stanton (below) was at the Forum, too, while Liz Pichon was at the Guildhall with her show The Brilliant World Of Tom Gates. For younger children, there were shows with Peppa Pig, Tilly and Friends, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Kristina Stephenson, who encouraged a mass singalong of 'Green bean soup is swell, and never mind the smell', as she talked about her book Sir Charlie Stinky Socks! Bath also has a range of venues, from the grandeur of The Guildhall to the Holburne Museum and The Mission Theatre. The Holburne is about to run an exhibition of the work of Bath's artist-in-residence Martin Brown, of Horrible Histories renown, including his cartoon Four Men Of The Apocalypse (below) from his work Coping With School. The Festival also hosts events at the bustling Bath Central Library, and among the weekend delights there was a talk by Gill Lewis, author of the award-winning White Dolphin and Sky Hawk. The youngsters were intrigued to hear how much research goes into her work. Lewis's tales are full of humane values and she said if she were given a superpower, it would be to come out of her comfort zone and make a difference in the world. Lewis also revealed that she had just submitted her new novel, Moon Bear, to her publishers for a 2013 release. The Telegraph Bath Festival runs from 28th September to 7th October. For ticket information see bathkidslitfest.org.uk