I thoroughly enjoyed this fable, I loved the magic and hope within it- the teasing out that there is a difference between need and greed and that solidarity is owed more to some than to others. We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC. My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I always found that books that had a lovely rhythm when read aloud where much more bearable to read aloud again and again and again as young children want. When he saw that people had no water to use in the fields, he drew a river and the river came to life.

The rich man was a greedy person, he captured the young boy and the paintbrush so that he would draw riches and grow even wealthier. One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. Arthur gave a scream as the end of his paintbrush was snapped right off by a set of angry Triceratops teeth.I think it is also good for them to understand that the important things in life are not only material things but things we often take for granted like food, basic survival necessities. He didn’t want to tell Arthur right at this moment that he had a real live painting of a dinosaur eating porridge and sweets. Ma Liang received the magic paintbrush because he had a great enthusiasm for painting and the young boy was honest. I know this is a short picture book but I would have liked at least some detail that might have given some background on the characters.

We turned the narrative poem (The Spider and the Fly) into a playscript, by setting it out correctly and adding detailed stage directions. You could also use some of the pictures from this book to explore watercolour painting and silk screen printing. But in the village, there lived a rich man who was mean and decided to steal the paintbrush from the young man so that he could use it to become even richer.So they picked up all the paintbrushes and tidied up the paints, and put them at the bottom of their toybox. There are some lovely adjectives, a wide variety of connectives and rhyming words for the children to investigate.

He had a dream one night that an old man handed him a magical paintbrush and told him to use it to help the less fortunate. The story, whilst there are some advanced aspects to its telling, is suitable for three to eight years olds, which is made possible by the inclusion of cross curricular traits. Julia Donaldson’s vibrant verse brings fresh life to a traditional tale of how a little girl’s integrity can withstand the corruption of power and greed. This pack also includes a differentiated reading comprehension, the Magic Paintbrush Word Mat and the Magic Paintbrush Writing Frames which can be used to support children when writing their own version of the story or creating a retelling of the story. He drew a cow and it came to life when he observed how difficult it was for people to till the field.The rhyme reads easily and fluently, demanding your attention to keep up with its pace and need for intonation. Because Shen is a beautiful person she decides against it but finds a way for the whole village to live happily ever after. It shows Chinese culture and how the Emperors ruled during that time period, whilst also establishing the faiths of the country. As always happens in such stories, the greedy Emperor learns of Shen's magical powers, courtesy of the paintbrush, and demands that she paint him a golden tree of coins.

The Magic Paintbrush is a Chinese folktale that tells the story of Ma Liang, a kind young boy who loves to draw. This pack includes the beautifully illustrated Magic Paintbrush Story PowerPoint, which is a fantastic stimulus to inspire writing.

This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published.