UK Movers and Shakers (51-75)
June 2009

The Gruffalo

by Julia Donaldson
Best price found: 40% off

(Macmillan Children's Books, 1999)
Paperback - 32 pages

List price: £5.99
Best price - Amazon UK: £3.59

Current availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours

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Amazon.co.uk Review:
"A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?"
"A gruffalo! Why, didn't you know? He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws."

And so begins the story of a quick-witted mouse as he encounters a host of predators who seem to think he might make a tasty treat. As he ventures deeper into the deep dark wood, stumbling across a hungry fox, a not-so-wise owl, and a slimy snake, spinning ever-extraordinary yarns about the scary, scaly gruffalo, he quickly realises that the hungry beast he has been talking of isn't imaginary after all.

A witty, sly little story that wrings giggles from the belly of the reader, The Gruffalo is both stylish and hilarious, simple in its execution, as it plays skilfully on a child's fears and then shows that even the most threatening of monsters are not always as scary as they seem.

A combination of read-along-rhyme by Julia Donaldson and illustrations by Alex Sheffler which perfectly capture the atmosphere of the story, The Gruffalo is an excellent picture book for 3-5-year-olds to read along with their parents, and is certain to become something of a classic. - Susan Harrison