Written by Julia Donaldson, Illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Picture book ages 4-8
Rating: 5/5
A clever mouse escapes being eaten by all the forest animals by inventing the tale of the "gruffalo." When the mouse ironically meets this beast, he tricks the gruffalo himself and is free from the jaws of death.
Opinion: Very entertaining book. Not hard on the ears, with rhyming and repetition at just the right places. Mouse meets predator, predator attempts to lure mouse, mouse insists he's eating lunch with a made up character called the gruffalo. Mouse meets gruffalo. The plot is suspenseful and fresh, with a satisfying ending. The pictures are also very colorful and intriguing; Some pages have a full picture, and some are just smaller ones, which is a nice alteration. Very well-written, nice rhythm, and the irony is pleasing and humorous.Curriculum connection: I actually read this with my second grader at Grantwood, and she really enjoyed it. She was very intrigued by what was going to happen next- her face was almost glued to the page. After each time the mouse tricked a forest animal, she'd say "he's lying!" Though she could guess what would happen with each animal, she was very surprised that the gruffalo actually existed. This could fit into a lesson about mythical creatures, or I could have the kids make up their own animal and draw it and share it with the class. It would be a good warm-up and would stimulate their imagination. The possibilities are endless.
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