The Guardian view on the Gruffalo: a well-timed comeback, wart and all | Editorial

The next challenge for Julia Donaldson’s monster is to get its claws into parents and persuade more of them to read aloudIt is 21 years since Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler published The Gruffalo’s Child, the sequel to their bestselling Gruffalo picture book of five years earlier. While the pair have collaborated on numerous other stories, none is as iconic as the tale of the little brown mouse who outwits a succession of predators. There is no shortage of Gruffalo merchandise. But in an age of franchises and prequels, this author-illustrator partnership clearly decided that less was more.It is reportedly thanks to her wish to support the National Literacy Trust that Ms Donaldson decided to bring the Gruffalo back after all. The new book will be published next year, and used in an international campaign to promote children’s reading. The depressing findings of a survey released this week, showing a steep decline in the proportion of UK parents who read aloud to their children, make this announcement particularly welcome. Another report, from the National Literacy Trust, found that the proportion of eight- to 18-year-olds who read for pleasure fell last year to a record low of 35%.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

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