... Anybody below the age of 5 who is reading it and has not already been acquainted with the Gruffalo get off the computer now, please****
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“…there is no such thing as a Gruffalo?” But of course there isn’t – even in ... Read review
Advantages: great rhyme, great monster, complex story Disadvantages: might be too complex for the youngest preschoolers
...I am giving most of the plot away. Anybody below the age of 5 who is reading it and has not already been acquainted with the Gruffalo get off the computer now, please****
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“…there is no such thing as a Gruffalo?” But of course there isn’t – even in the world containing many a thing that had “…terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible ... ...And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose” and whose " eyes are orange, whose tongue is black; who has purple prickles all over his back…
The creature is, in fact, a figment of imagination of a little clever mouse, who manages to ward off numerous animals seeing him as a potential dinner (“a fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good”) by convincing them that he is just about to meet the aforementioned ... more
**** warning: it's a pre-schooler book and I am giving most of the plot away. Anybody below the age of 5 who is reading it and has not already been acquainted with the Gruffalo get off the computer now, please****
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“…there is no such thing as a Gruffalo?” But of course there isn’t – even in the world containing many a thing that had “…terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in their terrible jaws…”, you would be hard pushed to find a creature who could, additionally, boast “…knobbly knees, and turned out toes, And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose” and whose " eyes are orange, whose tongue is black; who has purple prickles all over his back…
The creature is, in fact, a figment of imagination of a little clever mouse, who manages to ward off numerous animals seeing him as a potential dinner (“a fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good”) by convincing them that he is just about to meet the aforementioned Gruffalo.
Thus armoured with his story, the mouse strolls happily through the “deep dark wood”, secure in HIS knowledge that a Gruffalo, indeed doesn't exist. Imagine his surprise when, after scaring away the last of the carnivores, the mouse sees…., oh, yes, The Gruffalo himself, in all his brown, furry, knobbly, purple-prickly and orange-eyed glory. The Gruffalo has bad intentions indeed, but the mouse manages to persuade him that it's him, the little mouse, that is the scariest creature in the wood, and that gruffalo crumble is his favourite food. The Gruffalo runs away and "all was quiet in the deep dark wood, the mouse found a nut and the nut was good".
'The Gruffalo' is another very successful collaboration between writer Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffer (among others I can recommend 'The Smartest Giant in Town', Room on Broom' and 'Squash and a Squeeze'). It follows the familiar and successful formula of so much of small-children fiction, where the protagonist(s) go through a series of events of essentially the same nature, but fleshed out differently each time - in 'The Gruffalo' it's the mouse meeting the Fox, the Owl and the Snake - and of course the Gruffalo.
It is nicely and vividly illustrated, with colourful, realistic pictures done in a slightly child-mannered style. I am not overtly fond of Scheffer's manner, but it doesn't grate and it suits the text very well.
The text is the signature Donaldson's rhyme: simple, rhythmical, naturally flowing, mimicking prose to the extent that you often forget it's a rhymed book, you just read it and the rhyme is there, helping you to maintain the rhythm and melody of speech.
This book has been deemed a 'modern classic' and won several awards. There is a bit of Gruffalo industry now, with Gruffalo club, Gruffalo song and also probably some Gruffalo merchandise available. 'The Gruffalo' has certainly heaps of appeal for both parents and children. The title monster is a creature bordering of genius; the rhyme is great; it reads well; the story has a double twist which is rare in books for little children which usually have no twists at all.
My daughter who is now over 3 years old was introduced to the Gruffalo at the age of 2 and a half, and I would say that it was perhaps a bit too early. She did enjoy the book, she got suitably mildly scared of the Gruffalo and enamoured of the mouse. However, the complicated web of double-deceit spun by the mouse was very difficult to understand for a young pre-schooler who had not really learned to lie herself yet (in the sense that she had no 'theory of mind' and ability to realise that other people might not know something she does). She eventually grasped the fact that the Mouse was lying to the animals about Gruffalo; but I suspect even now she still doesn't REALLY understand why Gruffalo himself got scared of the Mouse in the second half of the story.
Does it matter? Well, I don't think it does, really. In fact one of the good things about the book is that it can be used to teach about 'other minds' and beliefs (and fibs and fantasies). The perfect audience for 'The Gruffalo' would be probably children between 3 and 5 years old, but I am not sure if many 5 year olds would be interested in what looks like a toddler picture book.
'The Gruffalo' is, indeed, a good candidate for a classic, and a book I would definitely recommend. It is great fun, the moral message of using your imagination and brain power (read: lying) to protect oneself from predators slightly dubious but very entertaining (there is even a little lesson about crying wolf a rebours).
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It was published by Macmillan with a cover price of 5.99 for a paperback; on Amazon a while ago. Now it's available for 4.79 ....... and the next generation of Gruffalos arrived in the form of 'Gruffalo Child' - which we have not been able to peruse yet.
...spent a long time in the car today, and I have to say, the children were angels! Well, I can’t say that very often, but on this occasion, we took a pile of books with us. The children (Ages 5 and 9) sat in the back of the car, and while Amy read quietly to herself, James made sure that everyone could hear how good his reading is!
Amy eventually picked up “The Gruffalo”, and asked James if he wanted to play the part of the animals, and she would ... ...you adults won’t mind knowing the ending to a children’s book.
The book has a picture of a woodland, with a “Gruffalo” peering out from behind a tree and a mouse walking along a path. There is a gold stamp claiming “WINNER – SMARTIES BOOK PRIZE GOLD AWARD”. On the back is a “Blue Peter awards winner for best book to read aloud” label. It is by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
Inside the book, the first page you come to is the double page picture ...
Testarossa 18.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
Advantages: You can read again and again Disadvantages: Nothing
...My son was two at the time, he is now 4 and it is still one of his favourite books. He can now recite it word for word and never tires of it. Both my hubby and I love it and when he took it to his grandparents for an overnight stay - they loved it too.
So what am I talking about?
The Gruffalo is an illustrated children's book written by Julia Donaldson (Text) and Axel Scheffler (illustrations). It is a winner of a Smarties Book Prize Gold Award ... ...the cover is a wood scene with a mouse and a strange looking creature. The illustrations throughout the book are fabulous and really capture the child's imagination. The book starts like this?. "A mouse took a stroll in a deep dark wood
A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.
Walk further into the deep dark wood and discover what happens when the quick-thinking mouse comes face to face with an owl, a snake and a hungry Gruffalo"
I am not ...
Flissy 02.04.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
Advantages: Clever story and great illustrations Disadvantages: Hard to find any
Although entitled 'The Gruffalo', the star of Julia Donaldson's story is actually a tiny, but very clever little mouse. This mouse seems capable of outwitting any creature in the wood who has designs on making a meal of him. As mouse takes a stroll through the wood, he meets a fox, an owl and a snake in turn. Each of them invite him back to their lair for either lunch, tea or a feast. Mouse knows full well, however, that they intend to eat him up, ... ...gruffalo for a meal. The other creatures have never heard of a gruffalo of course, so mouse gives them a few details about his appearance to frighten them. Amongst the gruffalo's features are terrible claws, a poisonous wart on the end of his nose, and purple prickles on his back. When each animal is sufficiently scared, the mouse says what the gruffalo's favourite food is. It is not always the same, according to mouse: to fox he says it is roasted ...
denella 16.05.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
I had seen so many reviews on this book but until a colleague of mine passed over a mountain of books from her children to Jack I was amazed to find this book was available in board book style. The RRP on the back of this book is £4.99 pence which is a price that I have found to be pretty much standard for this type of book and I personally feel is pretty reasonable. Of course you could find these ... ...hand is like.
The story itself is rather unusual and there are no other books similar to this kind of story. It follows a small mouse that is trying to protect himself whilst walking through the deep dark wood. Along the way he bumps into a lot of animals who would I am sure under normal circumstances eat him for lunch! However this is a mouse with a plan and as he bumps into these various animals that are usually predators to him he tells them ...
newby2 29.04.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
The Gruffalo is a wonderful story, all written in rhyme, which tells the story of a quick thinking mouse who keeps preventing himself from being eaten, by warning his preadtors of this rather fearsome hungry creature - the gruffalo. Of course, as the mouse says, there is no such thing as a gruffalo!
The story has a recurring theme as the mouse meets a series of different animals who all tell him that he is good enough to eat. Each time the mouse ... ...feast with the gruffalo! Unsurprisingly no one knows what the gruffalo is like so the mouse starts and continues to build on an amazing description - terrible tusks, terrible teeth and terrible claws, knobbly knees, a poisonous wart on the end of his nose and so on! As you can imagine the gruffalo is sounding pretty scary!
Each time he is talking to a different animal he changes what he says the gruffalo's favourite food is - when talking to the ...
kingfisher111 18.01.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
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Advantages: an entertaining read Disadvantages: none
The gruffalo's child was feeling bored.... is she brave enough to go on a hunt for the big bad mouse? Another classic story by JuliaDonaldson, this quirky tale leads on from 'The Gruffalo' where we see the little mouse outsmart the knobbly-kneed, yellow-eyed
wood-dweller. Will the mouse be made into a midnight feast for the curious little Gruffalo or will he really be as big and bad as legends tell? JuliaDonaldson uses her masterful rhythm and rhyme yet again, inviting children to follow the story and come back for more! Helps children to look at their fears and their bravery through a beautifully illustrated and funny story. The child is also invited to look at the monster with a little sympathy, after all even Gruffalo's play with dolls. ...
Have you read and enjoyed "The Gruffalo"? Try this book for the same easy reading, rhyming style. After reading "The Gruffalo", of course, we HAD to buy this, and for a while, it was compulsory bed time reading. What did |I find? A totally endearing book, in which the gruffalo's child continues the relationship with the mouse.
THE STORY
As with most (if not all) JuliaDonaldson books, this is all rhyming, and so is very easy for young children to follow and remember, so increasing their enjoyment of the story...they LOVE it when they can repeat some of the text.
It starts with the gruffalo and his child (boy/girl, not sure!) sitting in their little cave, and gruffalo tells his child that "no gruffalo should set foot in the deep dark wood" The little gruffalo is naturally curious and asks why. Remember the mouse in "The Gruffalo ...
Advantages: familiar,funny verse and great characters Disadvantages: No!
Author: JuliaDonaldson
Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Publisher: Anderson Press
Publish Date: September 2004
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Pages: 32
Age Suitability: 3-5
RRP: £5.99 (I got it as a 3 for 2 deal from ELC)
Bowing to my son's demands for "more new books" I took Kyle into town to see what we could find, expecting to pick up one new book. Imagine my delight - and my son's when I managed to pick up three for the price of two at the Early Learning Centre.
Among the three was The Gruffalo's Child, the work of Children's literature queen, JuliaDonaldson.
***Who is JuliaDonaldson?***
A mother of three, Julia began her career as a singer/songwriter, most prominently for children's television. In 1993 she had one of these songs, A squash and a Squeeze made into a book which was illustrated by her partner in crime ...
Product Information for "The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson" »
Product details
Type
Fiction
Genre
Children's
Title
The Gruffalo
Author
Julia Donaldson
ISBN
0230016219; 0333710932
Manufacturer's product description
A mouse took a stroll in the deep, dark wood...To scare off his enemies he invents tales of a fantastical creature called the Gruffalo. So, imagine his surprise when he meets the REAL Gruffalo! A new generation of very young readers can now discover the Gruffalo in this toddler-friendly board book version of the best-selling picture book, winner of the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award. With larger type and a handy-sized format, even the tiniest children will fall in love with the knobbly-kneed, black-tongued, purple-prickled Gruffalo.
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