Gruffalo backpacks, jumpers, raincoats and wellies are so ubiquitous in any place populated by small children that it is easy to forget how sharp, witty and smart the original source material actually is.
The brown furry beast with purple prickles all over his back made Dame Julia Donaldson a household name, both with the original instalment in 1999 and the sequel The Gruffalo’s Child in 2004.
Now, more than 20 years later, a third instalment – Gruffalo Granny – is here and it was worth the wait.
An homage to the act of storytelling, as much as it is a tale of bravery, patience and guile, it is a worthy addition to the Gruffalo canon.
Granny is coming to stay and the Gruffalo and his daughter need to prepare a meal, but what to cook? This calls for a trip to the deep dark wood.
Of course they encounter fox, owl and snake, but the story also weaves in some of Dame Julia’s other classics, including Room On The Broom, Monkey Puzzle and The Snail And The Whale.
The signature rhythm and rhyme of her prose is as pleasing as it ever was and it wouldn’t be a Gruffalo story without Axel Scheffler’s incomparable illustrations, in which he renders Granny with thoughtfulness and affection.
Gruffalo Granny is here to stay.
Gruffalo Granny is out now, from Macmillan Children’s Books.
