- Comedy
- Picture Books
- Ages 3–7
The shape of it
The shape of this universe.
The Gruffalo is Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's modern picture-book phenomenon. A clever little mouse takes a stroll through the deep dark wood and, to frighten off the predators who fancy him for lunch, invents a monster called the Gruffalo, only to come face to face with the very creature he made up. Told in irresistible, endlessly re-readable rhyme with Scheffler's warm, characterful illustrations, it became one of the best-loved and best-selling picture books of all time, spawning an Oscar-nominated animated film and long-running stage shows. The snowy sequel, The Gruffalo's Child, sends the monster's own little one out to find the terrifying Big Bad Mouse, and the first brand-new story in over two decades, Gruffalo Granny, welcomes another member of the family to the wood.
The near-essential deep-dark-wood picture books: funny, rhythmic, endlessly re-readable, and among the strongest gateway read-alouds ever written for the very young.
Primary themes
Tone palette
- Funny
- Warm
- Suspenseful
- Cosy
The series
One way in.
Cultural footprint
A shelf of evidence.
What The Gruffalo has done
- Major award winner
- Film adaptation
- Stage adaptation
- Bestseller
Cultural ubiquity
5/ 5Household name — recognised across generations.
Sensitivity
Low, and collection-wide.
Across the collection
All 3 books.
About the creator