The Gruffalo's Child

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler team up again to create this funny and adorable sequel to The Gruffalo. One night, the Gruffalo’s child wanders into the woods to search for the Big Bad Mouse. But instead, she comes upon a small mouse in the woods ... and decides to eat him! But wait, what is that? A shadow of a very large, scary creature falls on the ground. Could it be the Big Bad Mouse after all?

Age Range: 3 - 7 years

Grade Level: Preschool - 2

Lexile Measure: AD440L (What's this?)

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Puffin Books; Reprint edition (March 1, 2007)

Language: English

Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.1 x 10.6 inches

Shipping Weight: 5 ounces

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–In this sequel to The Gruffalo (Dial, 1999), the wide-eyed daughter of that story's title character decides to find the "Big Bad Mouse" that her father has told her so much about. "His eyes are like pools of terrible fire,/and his terrible whiskers are tougher than wire." With her stick doll tucked under her arm, the youngster enters the deep, dark woods and follows marks in the snow to snake, owl, and fox. When she finally finds a little mouse, she grabs him for a feast, but the clever creature tricks her into running away to the comfort of her sleeping father's arms. The full-color cartoons portray a suitably sympathetic child in the snow-filled woods. While children may appreciate the details (the stick doll, snake tracks in the snow, gruffalo child's cave drawings) in the art, lack of change from picture to picture and in perspective diminish its effectiveness. The plot, rhymes, and art are all slightly weaker than the original tale. Purchase this where the first book is popular.- Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reviews

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's creation is further brought to life by the many sounds of the deep, dark wood. Toddlers will love spotting the pictures that tell you which buttons to press and it helps hold their attention right until the end of the story. Made for Mums --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Great book. We already have the DVD version of it and I can say my one year old loves the movie and the book. It is easy to read and colorful enough to catch your child's attention. The story in itself is adorable. I'm sure we will continue to enjoy this book for years to come."

- Samantha

"We are obsessed with this book and many of Julia Donaldson's other books. My husband is from England where this story is a huge hit. My little boy is three now, and when he has just turned two was able to finish words as we read the story to him. "There's no such thing as a..." He loves watching the short movie too- which is adorable! We buy this, The Gruffalo's Child, and Room on the Broom for pretty much everyone we know. They are awesome!"

- Ohioukatie

"I love this book. I first read it when I was a nanny for two boys, 4 & 6. They loved it, especially when you make voices for each of the animals the mouse and the gruffalo encounter. It's surprising and you see how clever the mouse really is!! So funny. And easy, fun and enjoyable read, time and time again. You enjoy it as an adult or a child."

- ALB

"Love this book! It is amazing! Initially I had it in another language , exactly the same in English! I love the pictures and the story! Unlike Dr.Seuss book,the pictures are amazing and follow the story which is great for little children! We adore all her books and too bad I did not know about this author when my child was very little. Love love love it! Gruffalo is so far my favorite children's book!"

- K. Donckels

"My almost three year old daughter loves this book so much, she's constantly reciting verses throughout the day! There are so many great descriptive words, with a clever mouse who thinks outside the box. Love it! And the illustrations are fantastic!"

- Stephanie

"We watched this on Netflix a few times and my son LOVED the story so when I realized it was actually a book, I had to get it for him. We've had it since he was 20 months and he'll be two in a few weeks now. He loves the book - we read it several times in a row. It's easy to read, flows well. It's a bit on the longer side for his age and attention span, so we don't always get through the whole thing, but he still really enjoys it and my husband and I do too."

- Rupa L.

"My 3 year old son loves this book! We first found this gem at our local library read it once and put it back on the shelf. The following week we came back and he asked for it, so I searched the shelves and couldn't find it. Decided to purchase instead. Well worth it!"

- J. M.

About The Author

Julia Donaldson is a top selling author of children’s books with over 65 million books sold worldwide. Among her greatest successes are Room on the Broom, The Gruffalo and Stick Man (all illustrated by Axel Scheffler), What the Ladybird Heard (illustrated by Lydia Monks) and The Giant Jumperee (illustrated by Helen Oxenbury). Julia’s books have been translated into over 72 languages. 

Julia lives in the UK with her husband Malcolm and divides her time between Sussex in the South and Edinburgh in Scotland. From 2011 to 2013, she was the UK Children’s Laureate. Julia writes fiction, poems, plays and songs, as well as picture books. The TV films of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom have both been nominated for Oscars.