The role, which has a bursary of £15,000, is awarded every two years to an eminent writer or illustrator of children’s books.
Previous children’s laureates include Michael Rosen, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson and Quentin Blake.
Donaldson began her career writing songs for TV but in 1993, one of her songs, A Squash and a Squeeze, was made into a book, illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
The pair went on to collaborate on the best-selling picture book, The Gruffalo.
A film adaptation of The Gruffalo was nominated for an Oscar
She has written more than 120 books for children and teenagers to date, including The Gruffalo’s Child, Room on the Broom, Zog and The Snail and the Whale.
