DONALDSON, Julia. The Gruffalo.
London: Macmillan Children’s Books, 1999
Large 8vo., publisher’s pictorial laminate boards, featuring a wraparound image of the Gruffalo and mouse in the forest by Axel Scheffler; lettered in black to boards and spine; with barcode, ISBN, and price to lower; decorative forest endpapers with woodpeckers, butterflies and mushrooms; unpaginated [pp. xxiv]; copiously illustrated throughout in full colour, with full and in-text illustrations, as well as a double page centrefold (“Oh help! On no! It’s a gruffalo!); a near-fine copy, overall; lightly bumped to corners and spine tips, with a little associated rubbing through to boards, but minimally so, some light scratches observable only when held to light on an angle; internally clean, bright, and fine, with no markings; the ffep perhaps a little creased. Housed in a brown custom-made clamshell case, handmade by the Wyvern Bindery, lettered in yellow to spine; with two dark green protective velvet inlays.
First edition, with full number line 1-9.
Julia Donaldson’s ‘The Gruffalo’ in many ways requires no introduction. Donaldson was born and raised in Hampstead, and spent much of her early career as a playwright and songwriter in amateur theatre groups, radio, and for BBC Children's Television. She was 43 years old when she was approached by Methuen publishers, who asked whether they might be able to adapt her play ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’ (first aired on the BBC in 1975) into a children’s picture book. Published two years later, it launched her career in children’s books, and was her first collaboration with the German artist Axel Scheffler.
It was 1995 when Donaldson first conceived of the idea of ‘The Gruffalo’. She had come across an old Chinese story in which a young girl convinces a tiger not to eat her by proclaiming herself to be the queen of the forest. Persuading the beast to walk behind her, the tiger, observing the fear in the eyes of the animals they meet and believing it to be for the girl, flees. The ‘Gruffalo’ was a name created by combining a ‘grr’ sound crossed with a buffalo. Four years later (and after many amendments suggested by the author’s son) the work was finally finished, and was published to immediate success. It won a swathe of awards and has since become one of the most popular children’s stories of all time. This year (2025), Donaldson surpassed even the famous J. K. Rowling in terms of popularity, becoming the bestselling children’s author in the UK. It has been reported that over thirteen million copies of the book have been sold worldwide, and it has been translated into over 50 languages. The publication also cemented Donaldson’s professional relationship with Scheffler, and they have since collaborated on a further 31 titles, including Room on the Broom (2002); The Snail and the Whale (2003) and Stick Man (2008). In 2003, The Gruffalo's Child was released. A direct sequel, it tells the story of the Gruffalo’s daughter, who sets out into the forest to find the ‘big bad mouse’ that her father is so afraid of.
In 2009, the book was adapted into an award-winning film featuring Robbie Coltrane as the Gruffalo, James Corden as the mouse, Helena Bonham Carter as the mother squirrel, John Hurt as the Owl, and Rob Brydon as the Snake. The adaptation was nominated for a BAFTA in 2010 and an Academy Award in 2011.
Copies of The Gruffalo are incredibly sought after, in any condition, but particularly so clean, bright, and unmarked. At present, I can find no comparable copies of the first edition on the market.
London: Macmillan Children’s Books, 1999
Large 8vo., publisher’s pictorial laminate boards, featuring a wraparound image of the Gruffalo and mouse in the forest by Axel Scheffler; lettered in black to boards and spine; with barcode, ISBN, and price to lower; decorative forest endpapers with woodpeckers, butterflies and mushrooms; unpaginated [pp. xxiv]; copiously illustrated throughout in full colour, with full and in-text illustrations, as well as a double page centrefold (“Oh help! On no! It’s a gruffalo!); a near-fine copy, overall; lightly bumped to corners and spine tips, with a little associated rubbing through to boards, but minimally so, some light scratches observable only when held to light on an angle; internally clean, bright, and fine, with no markings; the ffep perhaps a little creased. Housed in a brown custom-made clamshell case, handmade by the Wyvern Bindery, lettered in yellow to spine; with two dark green protective velvet inlays.
First edition, with full number line 1-9.
Julia Donaldson’s ‘The Gruffalo’ in many ways requires no introduction. Donaldson was born and raised in Hampstead, and spent much of her early career as a playwright and songwriter in amateur theatre groups, radio, and for BBC Children's Television. She was 43 years old when she was approached by Methuen publishers, who asked whether they might be able to adapt her play ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’ (first aired on the BBC in 1975) into a children’s picture book. Published two years later, it launched her career in children’s books, and was her first collaboration with the German artist Axel Scheffler.
It was 1995 when Donaldson first conceived of the idea of ‘The Gruffalo’. She had come across an old Chinese story in which a young girl convinces a tiger not to eat her by proclaiming herself to be the queen of the forest. Persuading the beast to walk behind her, the tiger, observing the fear in the eyes of the animals they meet and believing it to be for the girl, flees. The ‘Gruffalo’ was a name created by combining a ‘grr’ sound crossed with a buffalo. Four years later (and after many amendments suggested by the author’s son) the work was finally finished, and was published to immediate success. It won a swathe of awards and has since become one of the most popular children’s stories of all time. This year (2025), Donaldson surpassed even the famous J. K. Rowling in terms of popularity, becoming the bestselling children’s author in the UK. It has been reported that over thirteen million copies of the book have been sold worldwide, and it has been translated into over 50 languages. The publication also cemented Donaldson’s professional relationship with Scheffler, and they have since collaborated on a further 31 titles, including Room on the Broom (2002); The Snail and the Whale (2003) and Stick Man (2008). In 2003, The Gruffalo's Child was released. A direct sequel, it tells the story of the Gruffalo’s daughter, who sets out into the forest to find the ‘big bad mouse’ that her father is so afraid of.
In 2009, the book was adapted into an award-winning film featuring Robbie Coltrane as the Gruffalo, James Corden as the mouse, Helena Bonham Carter as the mother squirrel, John Hurt as the Owl, and Rob Brydon as the Snake. The adaptation was nominated for a BAFTA in 2010 and an Academy Award in 2011.
Copies of The Gruffalo are incredibly sought after, in any condition, but particularly so clean, bright, and unmarked. At present, I can find no comparable copies of the first edition on the market.