| Product: |
The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson |
| Date: |
29.04.08 (70 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: a brilliant book
Disadvantages: none
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
I had seen so many reviews on this book but until a colleague of mine passed over a mountain of books from her children to Jack I was amazed to find this book was available in board book style. The RRP on the back of this book is £4.99 pence which is a price that I have found to be pretty much standard for this type of book and I personally feel is pretty reasonable. Of course you could find these books cheaper by buying second hand and because board books are so hard wearing I am sure they would still be in pretty good condition like this book that I have received second hand is like.
The story itself is rather unusual and there are no other books similar to this kind of story. It follows a small mouse that is trying to protect himself whilst walking through the deep dark wood. Along the way he bumps into a lot of animals who would I am sure under normal circumstances eat him for lunch! However this is a mouse with a plan and as he bumps into these various animals that are usually predators to him he tells them that he is off to meet a Gruffalo to have lunch. Of course these animals do not know what a Gruffalo is and the mouse tells these animals that they are the Gruffalo's favourite food. The mouse meets the Fox and tells him where he is going and says that the Gruffalo loves roasted fox, he meets the Owl and says the Gruffalo loves Owl ice cream, Scrabbled snake is what he tells the Snake is the Gruffalo's favourite dinner.
When the mouse does actually bump into a Gruffalo and the Gruffalo says that mouse is one of his tastiest snacks. The mouse tries to convince the Gruffalo that he doesn't want to eat him. The mouse says that he is the scariest animal in the woods. At first the Gruffalo doesn't believe the mouse but as he follows him through the woods he begins to believe him. As the mouse meets the various animals he has already spoken to the Gruffalo stands behind him and because of the Gruffalo's presents each animal they meet looks scared stiff although the mouse has managed to convince the Gruffalo that they are scared because of him and not because of the Gruffalo. The Gruffalo is convinced and when the mouse says his favourite food is Gruffalo crumble the Gruffalo makes a hasty departure back into the deep dark woods and the mouse is left safe and alone.
The story itself is quite brilliant and the way the story is told in a rhyme like manner makes it roll off the tongue and it becomes so enjoyable to read and even to listen to. The characters are great especially the Gruffalo who seems like such a scary character but in the end is scared by a small mouse! Of course this is one clever mouse to be able to think of such a masterfully cunning plan to ward off all is predators.
There are 24 different board pages in this book and on each one there is a small piece of writing and some lovely illustrated pictures. The text is not as large or as bold as some of the other board books we have but it is still easy to read and to follow. There are more pictures in this book than most and this is the part that Jack enjoys the most. The pictures I find are very interesting and coloured lovely and bright. The way the singsong type story carries on is brilliant and this really makes Jack sit up and be quiet for the whole time I read it to him.
All in all I think this book is really brilliant. The price is reasonable, the characters are clever and funny and I think this book is one that is likely to stick around for many years to come. I am giving a great score of 10/10, as this book really does deserve it. I would recommend it to all parents of young children and I think it would make a brilliant gift to give to a young child.
I hope this has been of some help to you. Thanks for reading.
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Summary: great book for all
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