The Gruffalo
Encyclopedia
The Gruffalo is a children's book by writer and playwright Julia Donaldson
, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
, that tells the story of a mouse's walk in the woods. The book has sold over 10.5 million copies, has won several prizes for children's literature, and has been developed into plays on both the West End
and Broadway.
The Gruffalo was initially published in 1999 in the United Kingdom by Macmillan
Children's Books (ISBN 0-333-71093-2) as a 32-page hardback edition, was followed six months later by a paperback edition, and subsequently by a small-format board book edition. It was penned for readers aged three to seven, and is about 700 words long. It is written in rhyming couplets, featuring repetitive verse with minor variance.
of The Gruffalo is a mouse. The story of the mouse's walk through the woods unfolds in two phases; in both, the mouse uses cunning to evade danger.
On his way the mouse encounters several dangerous animals (a fox, an owl
, and a snake). Each of these animals, clearly intends on eating the mouse, invites him back to their home for a meal. The cunning mouse declines each offer. To dissuade further advances, he tells each animal that he has plans to dine with his friend, a gruffalo, whose favourite food happens to be the relevant animal, and describes the features of the gruffalo's monstrous anatomy. Frightened that the gruffalo might eat it, each animal flees. Knowing the gruffalo to be fictional, the mouse gloats thus:
After being quit of the last animal, the mouse is shocked to encounter a real gruffalo – with all the frightening features the mouse thought that he was inventing. The gruffalo threatens to eat the mouse, but again the mouse is cunning: he tells the gruffalo that he, the mouse, is the scariest animal in the forest. Laughing, the gruffalo agrees to follow the mouse as he demonstrates how feared he is. The two walk through the forest, encountering in turn the animals that had earlier menaced the mouse. Each is terrified by the sight of the pair and runs off – and each time the gruffalo becomes more impressed with the mouse's apparent toughness. Exploiting this, the mouse threatens to eat the gruffalo, which flees.
The story is based on a traditional Chinese folk tale of a fox that borrows the terror of a tiger. Donaldson was unable to think of rhymes for "tiger" so invented one for "know" instead.
.
It was the UK's best-selling picture book of 2000, won the 2000 Nottingham/Experian Children's Book award, and the Blue Peter
Best Book To Read Aloud award. The audio version won the Best Children's Audio award in the Spoken Book Awards. In November 2009 the book was voted "best bedtime story" by listeners of BBC Radio 2. In a 2010 survey by UK charity Booktime, the book came first in a list of children's favourite books.
(Grühvel), German (Der Grüffelo), Lithuanian
(Grufas), Italian (A spasso col mostro), Polish
, Russian, Slovene (Zverjasec), Spanish (El Grúfalo), Hebrew (Trofoti), Dutch
(De Gruffalo), and Turkish
(Tostoraman).
) board book, and later as a larger (roughly A4) paperback version. An audio book
version, narrated by Imelda Staunton
, was released in 2002, and a jigsaw
book version (ISBN 1-4050-3496-3) was published in 2004. The book is also sold packaged with a gruffalo soft toy. At some point in the print run of the hardcover paper page book, the dialogue was subtly changed. There are two different ISBN numbers for the book. However, the older ISBN number that relates to the original text is no longer available.
The "Gruffalo song" was released with the audiobook, as a standalone CD single, and on a musical CD with other songs from Donaldson's books.
Donaldson and Scheffler's sequel, 2004's The Gruffalo's Child
(which tells the story of the gruffalo's child, warned by its parent of the terrifying mouse) won the "Best Children's Book" award in the 2005 British Book Awards
.
A ridable wheeled Gruffalo children's suitcase is manufactured for Trunki; the case had been featured as a pitch idea on the entrepreneur game show Dragons' Den
- and rejected by the show's judges.
Donaldson and Scheffler have collaborated on many other titles; some feature cameos from the Gruffalo in other guises, including as Christmas tree decoration in Stick Man and a drawing by a child in The Snail and the Whale.
into a 30-minute animated film, which was broadcast on BBC One
in the UK on 25 December 2009. This new version features Robbie Coltrane
in the title role and James Corden
as the mouse as well as Helena Bonham Carter
as the mother squirrel narator and Rob Brydon
as the Snake. The production was animated at the award winning Studio Soi in Germany and produced through Magic Light Pictures. The film also has the voices of John Hurt
as the Owl and Tom Wilkinson
as the Fox. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated) on 25 January 2011. The film was also nominated for a BAFTA in 2010.
for the last five years and can be seen at the Lyric Theatre, London this Christmas
. The Tall Stories Production has also toured the UK and internationally, including performances at Sydney Opera House
in September 2011.
episode 8 "The Hungry Earth
": it's the book that Moe is reading to his son and that he's reading himself before the "strange event" happens.
Julia Donaldson
Julia Catherine Donaldson MBE is an English writer and playwright, best known as author of The Gruffalo and other children's books, many illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Of her 157 published works, 56 are widely available in bookshops...
, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Axel Scheffler
Axel Scheffler is a book illustrator best known for his cartoon-like pictures for children's books, particularly The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child written by Julia Donaldson.-Life and career:...
, that tells the story of a mouse's walk in the woods. The book has sold over 10.5 million copies, has won several prizes for children's literature, and has been developed into plays on both the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and Broadway.
The Gruffalo was initially published in 1999 in the United Kingdom by Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
Children's Books (ISBN 0-333-71093-2) as a 32-page hardback edition, was followed six months later by a paperback edition, and subsequently by a small-format board book edition. It was penned for readers aged three to seven, and is about 700 words long. It is written in rhyming couplets, featuring repetitive verse with minor variance.
Plot
The protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of The Gruffalo is a mouse. The story of the mouse's walk through the woods unfolds in two phases; in both, the mouse uses cunning to evade danger.
On his way the mouse encounters several dangerous animals (a fox, an owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
, and a snake). Each of these animals, clearly intends on eating the mouse, invites him back to their home for a meal. The cunning mouse declines each offer. To dissuade further advances, he tells each animal that he has plans to dine with his friend, a gruffalo, whose favourite food happens to be the relevant animal, and describes the features of the gruffalo's monstrous anatomy. Frightened that the gruffalo might eat it, each animal flees. Knowing the gruffalo to be fictional, the mouse gloats thus:
- Silly old fox/owl/snake, doesn't he know?
- there's no such thing as a gruffalo!
After being quit of the last animal, the mouse is shocked to encounter a real gruffalo – with all the frightening features the mouse thought that he was inventing. The gruffalo threatens to eat the mouse, but again the mouse is cunning: he tells the gruffalo that he, the mouse, is the scariest animal in the forest. Laughing, the gruffalo agrees to follow the mouse as he demonstrates how feared he is. The two walk through the forest, encountering in turn the animals that had earlier menaced the mouse. Each is terrified by the sight of the pair and runs off – and each time the gruffalo becomes more impressed with the mouse's apparent toughness. Exploiting this, the mouse threatens to eat the gruffalo, which flees.
The story is based on a traditional Chinese folk tale of a fox that borrows the terror of a tiger. Donaldson was unable to think of rhymes for "tiger" so invented one for "know" instead.
Recognition
The Gruffalo won the gold award (in the 0–5 years category) of the 1999 Nestlé Smarties Book PrizeNestlé Smarties Book Prize
The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, also known as the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, was an annual award given to children's books written in the previous year by a UK citizen or resident. The prize was administered by Booktrust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading, and sponsored by...
.
It was the UK's best-selling picture book of 2000, won the 2000 Nottingham/Experian Children's Book award, and the Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
Best Book To Read Aloud award. The audio version won the Best Children's Audio award in the Spoken Book Awards. In November 2009 the book was voted "best bedtime story" by listeners of BBC Radio 2. In a 2010 survey by UK charity Booktime, the book came first in a list of children's favourite books.
Translations
The Gruffalo has sold over 3.5 million copies in 31 editions worldwide. Translations include Irish, Scottish Gaelic, French (Gruffalo), EstonianEstonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
(Grühvel), German (Der Grüffelo), Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
(Grufas), Italian (A spasso col mostro), Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Russian, Slovene (Zverjasec), Spanish (El Grúfalo), Hebrew (Trofoti), Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
(De Gruffalo), and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
(Tostoraman).
Versions and products
The book was initially sold as a small (roughly A5Paper size
Many paper size standards conventions have existed at different times and in different countries. Today there is one widespread international ISO standard and a localised standard used in North America . The paper sizes affect writing paper, stationery, cards, and some printed documents...
) board book, and later as a larger (roughly A4) paperback version. An audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
version, narrated by Imelda Staunton
Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, OBE is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series and Vera Drake...
, was released in 2002, and a jigsaw
Jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
book version (ISBN 1-4050-3496-3) was published in 2004. The book is also sold packaged with a gruffalo soft toy. At some point in the print run of the hardcover paper page book, the dialogue was subtly changed. There are two different ISBN numbers for the book. However, the older ISBN number that relates to the original text is no longer available.
The "Gruffalo song" was released with the audiobook, as a standalone CD single, and on a musical CD with other songs from Donaldson's books.
Donaldson and Scheffler's sequel, 2004's The Gruffalo's Child
The Gruffalo's Child
The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is the bestselling sequel to The Gruffalo.The story is about the Gruffalo's daughter who, despite her father's stories, sets off into the woods to discover the 'big bad mouse', which is the only thing her father is afraid of.Throughout her...
(which tells the story of the gruffalo's child, warned by its parent of the terrifying mouse) won the "Best Children's Book" award in the 2005 British Book Awards
British Book Awards
The Galaxy National Book Awards are a series of British literary awards focused on the best UK writers and their works, as selected by an academy of members from the British book publishing industry...
.
A ridable wheeled Gruffalo children's suitcase is manufactured for Trunki; the case had been featured as a pitch idea on the entrepreneur game show Dragons' Den
Dragons' Den
Dragons' Den is a series of reality television programmes featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas in order to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists. The show originated in Japan as "Manē no Tora"...
- and rejected by the show's judges.
Donaldson and Scheffler have collaborated on many other titles; some feature cameos from the Gruffalo in other guises, including as Christmas tree decoration in Stick Man and a drawing by a child in The Snail and the Whale.
Film
The book has been adaptedThe Gruffalo (film)
The Gruffalo is a half hour animated film based on the classic picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Schefller.Directed by Jakob Schuh and Max Lang, the film was produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures, London, in association with the award winning...
into a 30-minute animated film, which was broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in the UK on 25 December 2009. This new version features Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
in the title role and James Corden
James Corden
James Kimberley Corden is an English actor, television writer, producer and presenter. He is co-creator and star of BBC comedy shows Gavin & Stacey and Horne & Corden, and acted in the 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers....
as the mouse as well as Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
as the mother squirrel narator and Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon
Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
as the Snake. The production was animated at the award winning Studio Soi in Germany and produced through Magic Light Pictures. The film also has the voices of John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
as the Owl and Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
as the Fox. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated) on 25 January 2011. The film was also nominated for a BAFTA in 2010.
Theatre
The Gruffalo has been adapted for the stage by Tall Stories theatre company. The production has visited the West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
for the last five years and can be seen at the Lyric Theatre, London this Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. The Tall Stories Production has also toured the UK and internationally, including performances at Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
in September 2011.
Appearances
The book appears in Doctor Who (series 5)Doctor Who (series 5)
The fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour" and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series was led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over after the departure of Russell T Davies. The...
episode 8 "The Hungry Earth
The Hungry Earth
"The Hungry Earth" is the eighth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 22 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Chris Chibnall, who had previously written for Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood...
": it's the book that Moe is reading to his son and that he's reading himself before the "strange event" happens.
Further reading
- Julia Donaldson video podcast, the author discusses The Gruffallo on scottishbooktrust.com
- news story about the Tall Stories production at Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
- The Gruffalo creator Julia Donaldson reveals the story behind Britain's best-loved bedtime story By JENNY JOHNSTON, Daily Mail, 1 January 2010
External links
- gruffalo.com, the book's website
- the author's website
- nimax theatres, what's on, a link for tickets to the Christmas season in the West EndWest End theatreWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
- Tall Stories, the website of the theatre company who have adapted the book for the stage.
- Really Useful Group's page on their film version of the play
- ESL resources for primary school teachers.
- Who would love a Gruffalo?, Giles Wilson, BBC News Magazine, 22 October 2010