The Gruffalo (Picture Books)

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Summary: Don't you know? There IS such a thing as a gruffalo!
Review: After taking Britain by storm and becoming one of the most popular picture books to hit it big in merry old England, America finally got a chance to read "The Gruffalo" in 1999. And, to be honest, it didn't make that big of a splash. It's a nice story, no question. There's a good basic plot and amusing illustrations by the talented Axel Scheffler. It's just a nice book, no more, no less. If you're looking for a picture book fable that adapts old variations of ancient folktales, methinks "The Gruffalo" might be exactly what you're looking for.

One day a carefree little mouse takes a jaunty stroll through the big woods. While doing so he comes across a sly fox that wishes to invite the mouse to lunch (wink wink). The mouse is no fool and makes his apologies, saying that he wishes he could but he's already meeting a gruffalo. The fox is unfamiliar with what a gruffalo exactly is, so the mousie comes up with an extravagant and horrific monster. This description is so effective that the fox speeds away. Next, the mouse meets a hungry owl and the same scene occurs only with slightly new gruffalo descriptors. After the owl makes his excuses and flees the mouse meets a snake and the whole process begins again. Once the snake slithers out of slight the mouse (who up to this point had no idea that gruffalos actually existed) comes across an honest-to-goodness gruffalo. The gruffalo is delighted to see the mouse (quote unquote, "My favorite food!") and the small rodent must come up with a way to escape this new hitherto unthought of danger.

The story reminded me of the old fable about the boy and the giant. You've probably heard it at one point or another. In the story the boy convinces the giant (though delicate trickery) that he, not the giant, is the strongest creature on earth. This story is very similar to that idea, with the mouse convincing the gruffalo that he is the reason the fox, owl, and snake run away when the two of them approach. The text is definitely bouncy and fun and the whole book is written in rhyme. There's not a single line of text in this puppy that doesn't scan either, so the book's a fabulous read-aloud. It's great reading the smug mouse's, "Silly old Fox! Does he know? There's no such thing as a gruffalo!" Author Julia Donaldson (who also wrote the fabulous you-must-check-it-out "Spiffiest Giant in Town") mentions in her author bio that originally she envisioned this story with a tiger. But it's hard to come up with many rhymes for tiger (Geiger?) so she changed her mind and invented the gruffalo instead. It's a far superior choice. Rounding out the story are Mr. Scheffler's great great illustrations. The small mouse protagonist never looks particularly scared by the dangerous situations he finds himself in. I also have a soft spot in my heart for any picture book character that regularly stands about with his arms crossed behind his back oh-so-casually. But that's just me.

A fine bit of storytelling with lovely illustrations and an enjoyable plot. I doubt very much you'll ever find anyone who dislikes "The Gruffalo". I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's definitely unlikely. If you'd like a fun story to read aloud to one, two, or twenty youngsters, this might be an excellent choice. Consider it definitely recommended.


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Summary: One Of The Best!
Review: I read this book to my kindergarten class and they LOVE it! The children act it out, sequence the story through pictures, journal about it and talk about it for months it is one of their favorites and mine too! I love reading it because they get so excited and it is so much fun to read over and over!

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Summary: A book for all ages, except maybe teens and pre-teens!
Review: I saw an article about Julia Donaldson in The Guardian a couple of weeks ago and was intrigued enough to try to find a copy of the book -- thank you Amazon! The Gruffalo arrived today and lived up to my expectations as a book worth adding to my kiddie lit collection. The story is a simple one, told in rhyme, about a mouse who meets 3 animals and convinces each of them not to eat him because he is going to have lunch with a gruffalo and those 3 animals happen to be the gruffalo's favourite foods. Then he meets a gruffalo and convinces the gruffalo not to eat him because he, the mouse, is the toughest animal in the woods. And the gruffalo becomes a believer as he follows the mouse and all of the animals run away when they see the mouse? or is it the trailing gruffalo. The pictures by Axel Scheffler are well drawn, but what makes the book special is Julia Donaldson's ability to tell the story all in rhyme. She belongs on a shelf next to Dr. Seuss. This book should become more widely known to American parents; it is a real winner and well deserving of the "Smarties Gold Book Prize award. I see that Amazon is out of stock of both the board books and the cd's and tapes. Get with it Amazon and stock up for the Christmas rush!

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Summary: Good for confidence-building
Review: My 3 year old daughter loves this book. Within a week she knew most of the words and she now 'reads' it to herself while looking at the pictures. The rhymes are well written with plenty of repetition, making them easy for a child to learn. We read it together most days. It ranks with the Dr Seuss books for popularity on her bookshelf.

The message of the book is that size doesnt matter, that it is more important to use your wits. I particularly like the chorus 'silly old fox (snake/owl), doesnt he know, there's no such thing as a gruffalo', as it makes the reader feel that they are outwitting the fox/snake/owl, and finally even the Gruffalo itself.

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Summary: The Gruffalo
Review: This is a wonderful and engaging book to have in a classroom library. You can teach various writing and reading concepts such as: inferences, dialogue, patterns, punctuation and rhyme. Kids simply love it and are eager to participate in the reading.

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Summary: Outstanding Book
Review: This was a gift to my daughter a few months ago. She recently turned two and asks me to read this book at least three times a day. She loves all the characters in the book and even identifies the mushrooms, pinecones, woodpecker... and she now says "Amazing!" and "Astounding!" She can also describe the gruffalo in great detail, just like the book does. I plan to give this as a present to all her cousins!

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Summary: A great book!... but can you come up with a good tune?
Review: We got books instead of the usual souvenirs on our trip to London. The Gruffalo was the biggest hit of the bunch. It reads effortlessly and our kids adore it! They already know all the words by heart and have taken to making up different tunes to go with the "lyrics." The illustrations give the storyline a sweet but not sacharine feel. Axel Sheffler is now our favorite illustrator. Check out his other books -- Juice the Pig. written by Martine Oborne You're a Hero, Daley B. written by Jon Blake Monkey Puzzle. written by Julia Donaldson -- if you love the Gruffalo, these are must-haves as well.

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Summary: Absolutely Delightful
Review: What an incredible magical combination of author and artist, and what an outstanding set of books this collaboration has produced. The Gruffalo is an amazing tale that reminds me of many stories I read as a child: It has a wonderful combination of characters like The Little Red Hen, a sequence of events similar to The Old Woman and Her Pig, and the magical elements of many fairy tales. I believe Julia Donaldson is every bit as talented in creating rhyme as the great Dr. Seuss. The language has exceptional flow and makes this a fantastic read aloud book. Both children and adults will marvel at the ingenuity of our tiny hero on his journey, as well as his charm. The artwork is brilliant, and the story is superb. I recommend The Gruffalo for everyone who loves great stories and beautiful children's books.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Book
Review: Wonderful story of an imaginative mouse who while taking a walk through the woods makes up a story about a animal he calls a Gruffalo , he makes up this animal to protect himself from the various predators (fox, owl, snake ) that want to eat him .He succeeds in frightening away the animals ,but than he meets the animal of his imagination a Gruffalo. Now he has a bigger problem the Gruffalo wants to eat him, so he tells the Gruffalo to walk behind him through the wooods and see how afraid the animals are of him (the mouse that is ). The Gruffalo of course doesn't believe that the animals could possibly be afraid of a mouse so he walks behind the mouse , and when the animals of the woods see the Gruffalo behind the mouse they runaway in fright and the Gruffalo believes that the mouse was telling the truth and runs away from the mouse himself. Very enjoyable for both parent and child. Wonderfully illustrated, I highly recommend the Gruffalo