I Opened a Book
By Julia Donaldson
I opened a book and in I strode
Now nobody can find me.
I’ve left my chair, my house, my road,
My town and my world behind me.
I’m wearing the cloak, I’ve slipped on the ring,
I’ve swallowed the magic potion.
I’ve fought with a dragon, dined with a king
And dived in a bottomless ocean.
I opened a book and made some friends.
I shared their tears and laughter
And followed their road with its bumps and bends
To the happily ever after.
I finished my book and out I came.
The cloak can no longer hide me.
My chair and my house are just the same,
But I have a book inside me.
About the author
According to Julia Donaldson’s website, she grew up in a tall Victorian London house with her parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey.
She and Mary were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and she used to write shows and choreograph ballets for them. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes for them.
Donaldson studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where she met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic she later married.