The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson (Illustrated by Axel Scheffler)
First Line: A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good.
First Published: 1999
Follow a quick witted mouse as he tries to save himself from a host of predators like a fox, owl and snake that think he will make a yummy dinner. By spinning a story of the big, scary Gruffalo he soon realises he’s not so imaginary after all.
A great bedtime tale as the rhyming text slips of the tongue with ease and the illustrations give a real sense of entering the woods. I don’t know a kid that hasn’t read this… have you?
* The Gruffalo 15th Anniversary Edition is a great collectors book if you don’t have this in your VIB’s library already – and has a lovely shiny gold cover, additional unseen sketches and a note from the author about how the Gruffalo came to be.
£3.50 Amazon