The Gruffalo (book)

Before I had pages, I was a whisper in the wind. I was an idea about a deep, dark wood. Can you see it. The trees are tall, and the leaves go crunch, crunch, crunch. A tiny, clever little mouse is taking a walk. He is looking for a yummy nut to eat. He is very small, but he is very smart. He is the hero of my story. I am the book called The Gruffalo.

My story has a mom and a dad who made me. My word-mom is named Julia. She gave me bouncy, rhyming words that are so fun to say. A mouse took a stroll through the deep, dark wood. A fox saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good. My picture-dad is named Axel. He used his colorful paints to show you everything. He drew my big, furry friend with terrible tusks and terrible claws. He gave him knobbly knees and turned-out toes. Axel also painted the poisonous wart at the end of his nose. I was all finished and ready for children to love on June 23rd, 1999.

Now, my favorite thing is when you open my pages. I love being read out loud at bedtime. I love when you point to the pictures and laugh at the silly rhymes. My job is to make you giggle and help you feel brave, just like the little mouse. The mouse was small, but he was very clever. My story shows that even when you are little, you can have big, brave ideas. I hope I help you use your imagination to dream up wonderful stories of your own.