The Gruffalo's Child

Wow. An absolute must for young kids (1-4 years). They read it time and time again. You can read it to them and in time the little ones can tell you the story. Great value to get kids interested in books from a young age.

A follow on from the Gruffalo but can be read in it's own right. Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler books are works of art. The stories are written beautifully, rhyming with a rhythm that sets the pace. This ensures that as an adult I do not get bored reading the same stories over and over again as the more familiar the story becomes the more I can work on my expression and how I deliver giving me almost as joyful an experience as that of my son listening to them. I feel excited when he brings me a book and then we can have a short bonding session over the story before he goes off to play again. The books describe simple everyday scenes and experiences that a child might encounter helping them make sense of the world around them, mixed with magical characters like dragons, witches, Santa etc. Alex Schefflers artwork is beautiful complements the stories perfectly. The same characters often pop up in different books, whether it be the Gruffalo Child’s stick man in his own story or simply a squirrel and a frog. This helps my son who is fifteen months old develop his own narrative. He does not understand the words I am reading but gets plenty from the rhythm and my intonation whilst building his own story and understanding from the pictures, he is always pointing different characters out to me or finding them when I ask where they are. He loves books and I think that these books enhance a joy of reading and learning. He brings the books to me time and time again. Like the Gruffalo, the rhythm and pace of this book makes it a joy for me to read over and over again. That way I can keep each retelling fresh and interesting for both me and my son.

Makes good reading for the youngsters

My little person loves this book and always goes and picks it out for a bedtime story . Beautiful book

Great entertaining book for kids

Well made board book

Gift for granddaughter

My child loved this book. We were both huge fans of the gruffalo, and this does not dissapoint as sequels go. Scheffler's illustrations are beautiful as always, and depict the deep dark wood but during a winter night. However, due to its setting, each picture can appear a little repetitive (more bare trees and snow) and as a result, they are less captivating and don't hold my daughters attention as much as the original. However, the story is shorter, with less text per page, so you never dwell on one picture for long. We encounter the same characters from the first book, but from the perspective of the gruffalos child, which provides similar but slightly different theming to the first. The book allows children to remember and recognise familiar characters (e.g. gruffalo, fox, snake, owl, mouse) which my daughter really enjoys. On the whole, I would thoroughly recommend this if you are looking for another gruffalo fix!