Axel Scheffler: The man who drew The Gruffalo

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For decades, illustrator Axel Scheffler has been keeping children and adults around the world entertained with his warm and witty illustrations, from the Gruffalo and Stick Man to worms with attitude, gobbly goats and smart giants. He has published more than 150 books, including collaborations with writer Julia Donaldson that have become modern-day classics, translated into dozens of languages and selling millions of copies. Axel was born in Hamburg in Germany and moved to the UK in his twenties, where he has been based ever since. We join him in his attic studio perched high above a leafy part of west London, where he is hard at work on his latest project. This one centres not on a fantastical creature with terrible teeth and terrible claws, but on a small, slightly scruffy dog who may or may not have played a role in the creation of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Writer and actor Dame Emma Thompson has conjured up the story and we eavesdrop on a rare conversation between the two - rare because Axel generally doesn’t collaborate directly with his writers. Axel also allows us to witness his unique process, from pencil sketch to finished illustration, as he creates a scene from the new book before our ears. Presenter: Sarah Devonald Producer: Sarah Devonald Assistant producer: Faith Waddell Original music: Jez Swanwick A Tandem production for BBC World Service Excerpt from The Gruffalo, copyright © Text Julia Donaldson 1999 / Illustrations Axel Scheffler 1999 first published in 1999 by Macmillan Children’s Books. Excerpt from Jim’s Spectacular Christmas: Text copyright © Emma Thompson, 2022; Illustration copyright © Axel Scheffler, 2022; Published in 2022 by Puffin