The Gruffalo

2019 is the 20th anniversary of The Gruffalo, a 1999 children’s picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It became an international bestseller with around 13m copies sold, has been translated into 81 languages, and has been turned into other media, such as a film and TV series.

The Gruffalo StoryIt is written in rhyming couplets and is a ‘brains over brawn’ story where the Mouse journeys through the deep,dark wood only to meet a series of potential predators.Mouse cleverly avoids being eaten by claiming to be visiting the Gruffalo, his imaginary beast whose favourite food is the predator. After escaping these characters, Mouse, to his surprise encounters the real Gruffalo.

To escape him, Mouse claims that he is the most feared creature in the wood (the big, bad mouse) and to prove this the Gruffalo accompanies him back through the wood. They encounter each of the predators in turn, who not surprisingly run away. Convinced that the Mouse really is a feared and fierce opponent, the Gruffalo finally makes his escape too.A second book, The Gruffalo’s Child, was published in 2004, where the daughter of the Gruffalo ventures throughthe wood to see if the Big Bad Mouse exists, and is tricked by the clever Mouse into believing.

The stamps remain true to the classic children’s story and find the right balance between illustration and storytelling. Laid out in two rows of three se-tenant stamps, the images work as a chronological storyboard, following the mouse’s progress and introducing the other characters one by one.

1st Class

The Gruffalo – Scrambled Snake!

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The Gruffalo – Gruffalo Crumble!

1st Class

The Gruffalo – All was quiet in the deep dark wood.

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The Gruffalo – A mouse took a stroll

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The Gruffalo – Roasted Fox!

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The Gruffalo – Owl ice cream?