The popular character Gruffalo is returning in a brand-new book after more than two decades.
This book will be the third in the Gruffalo series, following the original from 1999 and its 2004 sequel The Gruffalo's Child.
The first Gruffalo picture book tells the story of a clever mouse who meets a fox, a snake and an owl while walking through a dark forest.
The mouse then encounter the Gruffalo, a big monster and tricks it into believing the mouse is a dangerous creature.
While, in the sequel, The Gruffalo's Child, the Gruffalo's child goes on an adventure to find the "big, bad mouse."
Author Julia Donaldson shared her views:
Author Julia Donaldson said in a statement, noting, "It's always a challenge to write a sequel. Five years elapsed between publication of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, and now it will be more than 20 between The Gruffalo's Child and the third book."
She went on to share, "I actually had the basic idea for the story a long time ago, but couldn't think how to develop it."
The Gruffalo books are some of the most beloved children’s stories worldwide.
"It was only when the NLT, whose work I'm very impressed by, used the first two books as part of their Early Words Matter programme that I was spurred on to get my idea out of the cupboard and see once and for all if I could turn it into a really satisfying story," Donaldson further shared.
The original Gruffalo has sold 3.2 million copies and its sequel, The Gruffalo's Child, has sold 2.1 million copies.
Release date:
The upcoming third book in the series is set to published in September, 2026.
