Picture Book 11

Title: The Gruffalo
Author: Julia Donaldson
Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Readability Score: 3.2
Theme: Believing is not always seeing...
Genre: Fantasy
Primary Character: Mouse and the Gruffalo
Secondary: The Fox, The Owl and The Snake
Awards: NONE
Date of Publication: 1999
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3371-8
Brief Summary: The mouse while wandering through the forest feeling hungry, comes upon a fox, who looks hungry himself. The mouse, instead of being scared or trying to run, makes up this story about going to meet a Gruffalo (Gruffalos of course love to eat foxes). The fox quickly runs away from fear for his own life and forgets all about eating the mouse. This happens two more times, but next with an owl and then with a snake. To eat animal the mouse describes the Gruffalo's fangs, horns, wort on his nose, and his claws. After this, the mouse continues to walk, alone to stumble across an actual Gruffalo! The Gruffalo tells mouse that he loves to eat mice and is going to eat him!! The mouse, clever indeed, tells the Gruffalo that everyone is afraid of him (the mouse) and that the Gruffalo should think twice about eating him. To prove his story, he tells the Gruffalo to follow him (close behind) as he tries to talk to the other animals. The other animals of course run for their lives the second they see mouse (with a huge Gruffalo behind him). This scares the Gruffalo so bad that he too runs away, leaving the mouse to peace and quiet in the forest to eat his nut.
How would use: I would read this book aloud to my students and then we could discuss how more important it is to be smart and clever than just being bigger than someone. I would also have the students make up their own "Gruffalo" and draw him- that would be fun to see!