The Gruffalo's Child

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (illustrator)
The Gruffalo said that no gruffalo should Ever set foot in the deep dark wood. But one wild and windy night the Gruffalo’s child ignores her father’s warning and tiptoes out into the snow. After all, the Big Bad Mouse doesn’t really exist… does he?
Although I realise these books have been around for a good few years, I didn’t have kids of ‘that age’ at the time and so they kind of passed me by. We were first introduced to the Gruffalo a few months ago when at a friend’s house for Sunday lunch. At one of those ‘let’s calm the kids down’ moments our hosts put the mini film of the Gruffalo on the tv. Well, we were hooked. This led to us buying the book and reading it every night for a looong time. Then, more recently, we stumbled upon The Gruffalo’s child whilst rootling through the preschool library box. Another trip to the local book shop ensued and now this is our current bedtime, and anytime really, favourite.
This story starts with the Gruffalo’s child questioning her father about The Big Bad Mouse that lives in the deep dark wood and once her father goes to sleep the Gruffalo’s child sneaks out in to the woods to discover him for herself. Along the way she meets the snake, the owl and the fox and initially wonders if they might not be the Big Bad Mouse she’s heard all about.
The tale is told in the same kind of rhyme as ‘The Gruffalo’ with the same wonderful illustrations by Axel Scheffler. My son loves joining in with the rhyming and because he’s now learnt the bits that repeat he can sit and ‘read’ it to himself with a degree of accuracy which makes him feel very grown up.
Eventually the Gruffalo’s child does meet a little mouse – but this couldn’t be the Big Bad Mouse she’d heard all about, could it? I won’t tell you how it ends but the little mouse gets to show us how brave and clever he is again.
Verdict: A fab read
Review by Lesley