The Gruffalo is a children's picture book by the English author Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It tells the story of a mouse strolling in a wood and encountering a series of predators culminating in the fictional 'Gruffalo'. The Gruffalo was first published in 1999 in Britain by Macmillan Children's Books. It is about 700 words long and is written in rhyming couplets featuring repetitive verse. It is an example of a trickster story and was inspired by a Chinese folk tale called "The Fox that Borrows the Terror of a Tiger". The book has sold over 13.5 million copies and has won several prizes for children's literature, including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.

It has been adapted into plays and an Academy Award-nominated animated film. The book has inspired a range of merchandise, a commemorative coin, a theme park ride in Chessington World of Adventures in England, and a series of woodland trails. In 2004 & 2026, The Gruffalo was followed by two sequels, The Gruffalo's Child and Gruffalo Granny, also written by Donaldson and illustrated by Scheffler.

Context

Author and illustrator

Julia Donaldson is an author of children's books, the most famous of which being The Gruffalo. Before writing The Gruffalo, Donaldson had a background in drama and performance. She studied drama at the University of Bristol and then busked in Europe and the United States.—was turned into a book, published by Methuen and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Scheffler was born and grew up in Germany before moving to Britain to study art. He first worked with Donaldson on A Squash and Squeeze, published in 1993. She read the story in schools prior to the book being published and invited the children to draw the Gruffalo, which resulted in creatures which she described as looking "more like aliens and less like cuddly animals". and a jigsaw book version was published in 2004. The "Gruffalo song" was released with the audiobook on a musical CD with other songs from Donaldson's books. Scheffler and Donaldson continued to work together in an author-illustrator partnership and as of 2022 have created over 20 best-selling books. In 2019, 20 years after the publication of The Gruffalo, over 13.5 million copies had been sold. It has been translated into more than 100 languages, multiple dialects of Scots, Guernésiais, and Latin. The sequel to the book by Donaldson and Scheffler—The Gruffalo's Child—was published in 2004. It tells the story of the Gruffalo's daughter discovering the mouse after hearing stories about it from her father. Allusions to the Gruffalo character appear in several other books by Donaldson and Scheffler.

Select translations

  • . Translated by Monika Osberghaus. Weinheim: Beltz & Gelberg. 1999. .
  • . Translated by Gwynne Williams. Whitchurch: Gwasg y Dref Wen. 1999. .
  • . Translated by Erika Stařecká. Prague: Svojtka & Co. 2000. .
  • . Translated by Marina Boroditskaya. Moscow: Mashiny tvoreniya. 2000. .

Adaptations

Film

The book has been adapted into a 30 minute animated film, which was broadcast on BBC One in the UK on 25 December 2009. This version features Robbie Coltrane in the title role, James Corden as the mouse, Helena Bonham Carter as the mother squirrel narrator, John Hurt as the Owl, Tom Wilkinson as the Fox and Rob Brydon as the Snake. The production was animated at Studio Soi in Germany and produced through Magic Light Pictures. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated) in 2011. The film was nominated for a BAFTA in 2010.

Theatre

The Gruffalo has been adapted for the stage by Tall Stories theatre company, premiering in 2001. The production has toured the West End, Broadway, and Sydney Opera House. A review in The Scotsman says that the play "develops Donaldson's words with perfect understanding". A review in British Theatre praises the "dynamic movements in all the scenes", including fourth wall breaks, but writes that the musical numbers and scenery are not as inspiring. The Gruffalo has also been adapted for the stage by Dutch theatre company Meneer Monster.

Legacy

A range of official The Gruffalo merchandise includes clothing, accessories, games, and soft toys. A Gruffalo Woodland Trail was opened on 31 March 2012 at the Dean Heritage Centre in the Forest of Dean. The trail depicts scenes and characters from the book carved by chainsaw artists. Other Gruffalo-themed woodland walks and trails have been established in Great Britain, including those at Kilmardinny Loch in Bearsden, Mount Vernon Park in Glasgow, Ardkinglas in Argyll, Whinlatter Forest Park in Cumbria, and several locations managed by Forestry England. In 2017, Chessington World of Adventures opened The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure after securing a licensing deal with the studio Magic Light Pictures, which created The Gruffalo film. This ride replaced the park's Bubbleworks Ride. Another ride based on Donaldson's book, and Magic Light Picture's film, Room on the Broom was also opened.

Sterling silver, gold, and UK 50p commemorative coins featuring "The Gruffalo" were issued in 2019 to mark the 20th anniversary of the book's publication. The coins were not introduced into general circulation, but were sold through the Royal Mint website. The 50p coins sold out within a day of being released. The same year, characters from the book featured on a series of UK postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail.

Awards

The Gruffalo won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and Blue Peter Book Award's Best Book to Read Aloud. In November 2009 the book was voted "best bedtime story" by listeners of BBC Radio 2. In a survey by the British charity Booktime in 2010, the book came first in a list of children's favourite books.

References

Citations

Works cited

  • Julia Donaldson's website
  • A list of translations into over 100 languages and dialects