The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson

10/10

If you’ve ever read a book that you don’t want to end then The Gruffalo is perhaps a childs equivalent – luckily Julia Donaldson continues to keep little minds satisfied with The Gruffalo’s Child

Based on the successful format of the original story, The Gruffalo’s Child, as it suggests, follows the adventure of the Gruffalo’s daughter as she goes in search of the Big Bad Mouse. The child goes on a trail with the mouse to find the Big Bad Mouse, and, just like her father, the Gruffalo’s child has the wool pulled over her eyes by the small creature. Featuring the same woodland animals as in the original book, children enjoy the continuity of the characters.

Little readers love the adventurous spirit of the Gruffalo’s child as she creeps off to find the Big Bad Mouse on a cold winter’s night, and with excellent images to accompany the tale they instantly warm to the character.

After her encounter with the Big Bad Mouse, The Gruffalo’s child retreats to the warmth and security of the cave with her father. While it’s subtly done, the moral of this story is reassuring to parents and can be read as a message to children not to stray too far from home. The final scene of the child cuddled up to her father is one kids love to dwell on as they study the markings on the cave wall featuring all the animals in the book – the attention to detail in the illustrations is fantastic.

In the style of the original book, Julia Donaldson’s uses reiteration to produce a flowing story that allows the child to anticipate the words and the reader to get into character for each of the creatures – making for endless reads.