From Publishers WeeklyThe eponymous characterintroduced by this British team owes a large debt to MauriceSendak's Where the Wild Things Are. When Mouse meets Fox in the"deep dark wood," he invents a story about the gruffalo, describedvery much like Sendak's fearsome quartet of wild thingsA"He hasterrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in histerrible jaws." The gullible fox runs away when Mouse tells himthat the gruffalo's favorite food is roasted fox. "Silly old Fox!"says Mouse, "Doesn't he know?/ There's no such thing as agruffalo!" Owl and Snake follow suit until, with a turn of thepage, Mouse runs into the creature he has imagined. Quick-thinkingMouse then tells the monster, "I'm the scariest creature in thisdeep dark wood./ Just walk behind me and soon you'll see,/ Everyonefor miles is afraid of me." Fox, Owl and Snake appear to beterrified of the tiny mouse, but readers can plainly see the realobject of their fears. By story's end, the gruffalo flees, andMouse enjoys his nut lunch in peace. Despite the derivative plotline, debut author Donaldson manipulates the repetitive languageand rhymes to good advantage, supplying her story with plenty ofscary-but-not-too-scary moments. Scheffler's gruffalo may seem agoofy hybrid of Max's wild things, but his cartoonlikeillustrations build suspense via spot-art previews of the monster'sorange eyes, black tongue and purple prickles until the monster'sappearance in full. Ages 4-8.
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