Gruffalo is an English children's book by writer Julia Donaldson with illustrations by Axel Scheffler . It was released in 1999, introducing for the first time a new character - a furry and fanged resident of the forest named Gruffalo (in English it is pronounced “Gráfalo”). The text of the book is a poem with rhyming couplets. The book is designed for children 3-7 years old.
| Gruffalo | |
|---|---|
| The gruffalo | |
 Original Cover | |
| Genre | fairy tale in verse |
| Author | Julia Donaldson |
| Original language | English |
| Date of first publication | 1999 |
| Publishing house | Macmillan |
| Following | |
The book gained immense popularity in the UK and has been translated into several dozen languages. Its circulation amounted to several million copies, the book has become one of the best-selling in history. [one]
In 2009, an animated film was shot based on the book. There is also an audio version and several theatrical productions of the book.
Content
History
According to Julia Donaldson herself, it took about a year to think about a book about Gruffalo, and it took two weeks to write the text itself. She took the Chinese fairy tale about the girl and the tiger as the basis of the plot: due to the tiger following the girl’s tracks, she thought that all animals were afraid of her, although in reality they were afraid of the tiger. [2]
Initially, the writer assumed that the character would also be a tiger, but she could not come up with a rhyme for the word tiger and as a result came up with a new character “Gruffalo”, rhyming in English with the verb know 'know' in the couplet
Silly old Fox, doesn't he know
There's no such thing as a ...
Gruffalo's appearance details were also partly due to the fact that certain rhymes were easier to match by context. [3]
Having finished the text, Donaldson sent it to the publisher, but did not receive an answer throughout the year. Then she turned to illustrator Axel Scheffler, with whom she had not previously been acquainted. A week later, she received an offer to publish the book even if Sheffler refused to illustrate it.
Story
The mouse walks through the woods and meets in turn the Fox, the Owl and the Snake. Each of them, seeing the Mouse, wants to eat it and invites him to visit. However, the Little Mouse refuses under the pretext that just at that time he had an appointment with Gruffalo. When the interlocutors are interested in who Gruffalo is, the Little Mouse describes him as a large scary beast with huge teeth, fangs, claws, a poisonous wart on his nose and back in lilac spikes. He also says that Gruffalo loves to feast on foxes, owls and snakes, as a result of which the interlocutors of the Mouse run away in horror.
Laughing at the stupid beasts who believed in his invention, the Mouse unexpectedly meets in the thicket of Gruffalo himself, fully consistent with his description. Griffalo tells the Little Mouse that he is going to make a sandwich out of it and eat it, but the Little Mouse warns Gruffalo that he is dealing with the worst animal in the forest. To prove this, the Mouse walks through the forest again, this time with Gruffalo, and demonstrates how the Snake, Owl and Fox are hiding from him in horror. Then the Little Mouse says that he doesn’t mind eating “gruffalo with nuts inside”.
After making sure that he is dealing with a terrible and dangerous beast, Gruffalo runs away in fear, and the Little Mouse can calmly sit down and eat a delicious nut.
Awards and Achievements
- 1999 - Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, Gold Award for Best Book of the Year for Children Under Five
- 2000 - Blue Peter Book award, award for the best book for reading aloud to children
- 2000 - Nottingham / Experian Children's Book award
In 2000, the book became the best-selling book in the UK.
In November 2009, the book won a vote for the title of “best bedtime reading” among BBC Radio 2 listeners. [four]
According to British polls in 2010 , the book ranked first in the list of favorite children's books. [five]
Russian translation
| Gruffalo | |
|---|---|
| The gruffalo | |
| Author | Julia Donaldson |
| Genre | fairy tale in verse |
| Original language | English |
| Original published | |
| Translator | Marina Boroditskaya |
| Registration | Axel Scheffler |
| Series | "Cars of Creation" |
| Publisher | " Machines of Creation " |
| Release | 2005 |
| Pages | 32 p. |
| ISBN | ISBN 5-902918-03-0 |
| Next | " Graffalo's daughter " |
In Russia, the book was published in 2005 in the translation of Marina Boroditskaya , in the series “Cars of Creation” by the publishing house “ Cars of Creation ”. The book did not immediately gain popularity: according to the director general of the publishing house Vadim Titov [6] ,
| It was what is called a very slow start. The British told me that their book also did not immediately become a bestseller. This is despite the fact that Donaldson is called " Shakespeare for children" and she is the fifth best-selling children's writer after Philip Pulman . We have “Gruffalo” won recognition for about five years ... Of course, “I heard a lot of things about“ Gruffalo ”- from the fact that there is not enough text, and ending with the fact that the main character is scary. The first two years, Griffalo was perceived as a freak. And who buys mostly children's books? Of course, moms. And mother, most likely, will not buy a book about an unfamiliar terrible beast to her child. They told me: they say that there are no such animals, as I will explain to the child what kind of animal it is - it does not exist in nature. “But what about Moidodyr ?” I usually entered. There was no answer ... |
Reviews
In a review on her blog, Olga Zlatogorskaya noted that “despite the positive mood of the book, after reading it there is an unpleasant aftertaste” due to the fact that the Mouse finds a solution to his problem, telling a lie: “Morality is read between the lines: to cheat is good. If you are small and weak - deceive, and you will be well done ” [7] .
| The situation is beginning to resemble the real world. After all, when a child begins to play in the yard without adults, we teach him what to do if a stranger uncle comes up and offers a tasty candy or go to look at the kittens. In this case, the child must cheat: to say that mom will come out now or that dad is "fixing there" fixing the car. But we do not teach such things to a child at preschool age, but already when the basic moral principles are formed. |
Films
In 2009, a half-hour animated film " Gruffalo " was shot from the book, in which the characters were voiced by famous actors. Compared with the book, an additional character was introduced into the film - the Squirrel, which tells the squirrels the story of the Mouse and Gruffalo.
In an interview with Lev Danilkin, Julia Donaldson admitted that she also received other proposals for a film adaptation, which she rejected [8] :
| ... one American producer came to us. He suggested making a film for 90 minutes - but said that they could not save the rhythm, rhymes, and generally history. Other people wanted to shoot 30 small episodes - about Gruffalo and the mouse, how they became friends, how they learn colors together ... But I said no, I don’t want to. A small television movie - yes, please. And that’s it. |
Audio Version
In 2002, the Gruffalo audiobook was published, voiced by actress Imelda Staunton . [9] The publication also included the “Gruffalo Song”. The audiobook was awarded the Spoken Book Award for 2002 as the best audio show for children [10] .
In popular culture
- The book "Griffalo" is read by one of the characters of the 8th episode (" Hungry Earth ") of the 5th season of the British television series Doctor Who .
Notes
- ↑ English children's writer
- ↑ The Making of the Gruffalo. Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo bends all the rules for writing marketable picture books (link not available) . Date of treatment September 3, 2011. Archived July 19, 2008.
- ↑ Information on Julia Donaldson, children's author and creator of The Gruffalo
- ↑ BBC - Radio 2 - Jeremy Vine - Jeremy Vine's Bedtime Stories
- ↑ Gruffalo tops list of children's favorite books , BBC News (October 18, 2010). Date of treatment October 19, 2010.
- ↑ Failed bestsellers: “Gruffalo”, “Guardians”, “Sex for science. Science for sex ”and 5 more books that the Russians did not like
- ↑ Magazine of Olga Zlatogorsk
- ↑ Julia Donaldson. Who if not a mouse (September 2, 2010)
- ↑ The Gruffalo (story and song). With Imelda Staunton. Macmillan Digital Audio, 2002. ISBN 1405005181
- ↑ Audio books written by children's author, Julia Donaldson
Links
- Official Gruffalo Website
- Gruffalo is ten years old ( interview with Donaldson and Scheffler on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the book)
- Gruffalo: A Tale in Poems (book review)
- "Gruffalo", Russian translation (with pictures)
- "Gruffalo", Russian translation
- "Gruffalo", Russian translation