The Gruffalo

Donaldson, J., & Scheffler, A. (2010). The Gruffalo. Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation.

The Gruffalo

Author/Illustrator

Synopsis

Reading Comprehension

Vocabulary

Demographics / Related Info

The Gruffalo

Writing Prompts

Pre-Reading

During-Reading

After-Reading

Conclusion

Demographics and Related Info.

Demographics (Audience Levels): Ages 3-8 / Grades Preschool through 3rd Grade. Students in Preschool through first grade will not be able to read this book independently. However, reading allowed is a great option for these grades.

Lexile Measure: AD200L Length: 32 Pages Genre / Sub-genre: Fiction / Animals Format: Picture Storybook

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Characters: Mouse, Gruffalo, Owl, Snake, and Fox

Synopsis

The story starts with a small, timid mouse. This mouse comes upon different creatures throughout his journey through the woods. To survive, the mouse invents this terrifying monster to scare away the predators. However, the mouse's invention, soon comes to life. "The Gruffalo" is found along the way of the mouse's journey through the woods. The mouse comes to the conclusion that the Gruffalo is the one who is timid, and uses this to his advantage. The two make their journey back through the woods, and as the predators approach again, they quickly realize that the Gruffalo was real, and get away as fast as they can. At the end of the book, the Gruffalo feels as if the Mouse is the scariest creature and ends up running away as well.

Author / Illustrator

Julia Donaldson is the author of The Gruffalo series. Beyond this series, she has created over 100 books and plays for children of all ages. Here are some fun facts about the author: 1. She was born in England. 2. Her books became known as some of the best selling United Kingdom picture books. 3. Her and her sister would act out the plays that she wrote and choreographed. Axel Scheffler is the illustrator of The Gruffalo series. Beyond this series, he had applied to become a teacher at an Art School, but was denied. After this rejection, he studied the History of Art at the university in Hamburg. Some fun facts about the illustrator: 1. He always loved art from an early age. 2. His books have been published all over the world and in many different languages.

Did you enjoy?

If so, please consider looking into the rest of the series about the Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Some of the titles are as follows: The Gruffalo's Child My First Gruffalo The Gruffalo Spring Nature Trail

Students will label the parts of the Gruffalo, and then answer various True or False questions based on the reading. An extension to this assignment would be holding a class discussion on how students feel the book could have ended differently.

Pre-Reading Activity

Students will be given a list of words that describe the Gruffalo. They will be expected to draw a picture of what they think the Gruffalo will look like before they ever see the book.

Look closely at the rubrics for each prompt before you decide on one.

Choose one prompt to respond to:

Writing Prompts

1. WANTED!!! Pretend you are Mouse walking through the woods. Your job is to catch the Gruffalo. Instead of trying to scare away the predators, you make them a flier to show them who you are looking for. The characters band together to help you find the Gruffalo. You must include a drawing and a description. 2. Pretend you are the Gruffalo, and you find out you are being used to scare others away. Explain how you would feel if you were the Gruffalo in this situation.

During-Reading Activity

As the students read through the book they will fill out this worksheet. Surrounding the mouse are circles. Some of these circles are blank and some of these circles include the other animals within the story. Students are expected to write down information from each part of the story. EX: When Mouse comes to Snake in the forest, the student should write in Snake's bubble what happens.