The Gruffalo
A teacher’s look at why this book belongs in the The Why-Askers stage.
Why it fits The Why-Askers (for preschoolers whose every page sparks a question)
A mouse invents a monster - then meets him. The twisting logic delights exactly the age that is learning what bluffing is. Donaldson's verse is the finest read-aloud engineering in the business.
What makes it special
Donaldson's plot is a perfect logical machine: the invented monster becomes real, and the bluff must be re-bluffed. Axel Scheffler's woods are detailed enough to live in, and his Gruffalo is scary in exactly the amount children enjoy. Its rhyming couplets install themselves permanently — ask any parent who can still recite it.
From the publisher
The Gruffalo is a British children's picture book by writer and playwright Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, that tells the story of a mouse, the protagonist of the book, taking a walk in the woods. The…
About Julia Donaldson
Julia Donaldson, former UK Children's Laureate, is the best-selling author in Britain full stop — The Gruffalo alone has sold over 13 million copies. Her rhyming plots are built with a songwriter's engineering: every stanza earns its page turn.
Donaldson spent years busking and writing songs for children's television; when one song, 'A Squash and a Squeeze,' became a book in her forties, she discovered her true form — and met illustrator Axel Scheffler, the other half of the magic.
Also by this author: Room on the Broom · Stick Man · The Snail and the Whale
More from “What If and Why Not”
This book is part of The Best Books for Preschoolers: 30 Teacher Picks (The Why-Askers) in our guide The Best Children’s Books by Age — 120 books chosen by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX. Come see how we build readers →
Nobody paid for this review — not the author, not the publisher — and the store link above earns us nothing. Our only interest is the reader this book fits.