The Gloomster

Music depresses me. Dancing distresses me. Everything turns out wrong. That's why, the whole day long, I feel so gloomy. Inspired by Ludwig Bechstein's nineteenth-century poem, Axel Scheffler has created a set of delightfully dark depictions of misanthropic misery. Julia Donaldson, Axel's collaborator on "The Gruffalo", has penned a wry, witty new translation of the original German. The result is a triumph of negativity, in the macabre yet merry spirit of the late, great Edward Gorey. Superbly miserable, brilliantly curmudgeonly and oddly cheering, gloominess has never been so appealing. If you have ever felt that winter is cold and dreary but spring comes too soon each year, or that you'd rather just pull up the bedclothes and turn out the light, then "The Gloomster" is the book for you.

Axel Scheffler has achieved worldwide acclaim for his illustration. The Gruffalo, published in 1999, has become a modern classic, selling more than 2 million copies worldwide and translated into more than twenty languages. He is the author of many other award-winning titles, including The Gruffalo's Child, Monkey Puzzle, Room on the Broom, The Snail and the Whale and Tiddler. An edition of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats with Axel's illustrations was published by Faber in 2009. In 2010, Faber published How to Keep a Pet Squirrel, a gift book for adults. Born in Germany, Axel now lives in London.