The gruffalo

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The mouse and the gruffalo

The Gruffalo (original title The Gruffalo ) is a children's book published in 1999 by the British writer Julia Donaldson , which was illustrated by Axel Scheffler . It tells the story of a mouse who initially only invents a monster called "Gruffalo" on its walk through the forest , but then actually meets it.

The German-language edition was also published in 1999. The book, which has been translated into numerous languages, has since developed into a world best-seller and is already considered a modern children's book classic in Great Britain . According to the publisher's recommendation, the book is suitable for children aged four and over.

The idea for the book is loosely based on the Chinese folk tale The Fox and the Tiger . Originally, Julia Donaldson planned to have a tiger appear as the antagonist instead of the gruffalo as in the Chinese fable, but rejected the idea because her story should be written in rhyme and the number of possible rhymes for the word tiger seemed too limited to her.

Action structure and course

The protagonist of this story is a mouse . Your walk through the forest can be divided into two parts. In the first section, the mouse meets various dangerous animals (a fox , an owl and a snake ) on its walk . These animals hypocritically want to invite the mouse to their home, probably to eat them there. However, the mouse declines any invitation, stating that it has already made an appointment with the Gruffalo.

Since none of the animals knows the Gruffalo, the mouse has to describe this animal. With the description of fiery eyes, a hideous paw or terrible claws and the hint that the Gruffalo prefer to eat “fox skewer”, “owl with icing” or “snake puree”, the mouse drives away its opponents.

In the second section, the mouse actually meets the gruffalo, which it also wants to eat. However, the mouse tells the gruffalo that the other animals in the forest fear it. This makes the Gruffalo curious, and so they walk together through the forest. They meet the snake, the owl and the fox, but they all run away after a short greeting. Finally, the mouse shocks the gruffalo by saying that it prefers to eat “Gruffalo groats”, whereupon the Gruffalo is also afraid of the mouse and runs away. Finally the mouse has its rest and cracks nuts.

reception

  • The FAZ writes, among other things: "... the gullible monster is a fixed star in the children's cosmos, the little ones sing the Gruffalo song and the big ones drag along to the fine London Arts Theater, where the Gruffalo play can be seen, they buy puzzles and posters and of course the follow-up book: 'The Gruffalo Child'. "
  • At ZDF it says about the play: "... A little lesson about fear and fearlessness and the happiness of the little ones who come out big if they only use their imagination."

Secondary literature that originally deals with the "story of pictures with a fable character " is not yet known. Hans Gärtner's “didactic and methodological advice” in the picture book cinema edition of the publishing house media nova, which specializes in audiovisual teaching media, is a teaching aid and is aimed at teachers who use the Gruffalo picture story in preschool or elementary school as a “picture book cinema” and for who want to use values ​​education and religious education .

Nonetheless, Hebblethwaite and McCarthy, among others, deal with their scientific, English-language collection of articles from 2007, Fear , in the scientific literature . Essays on the Meaning and Experience of Fear , with the gradual overcoming of fear in The Gruffalo . In his special education diploma thesis from 2007 at the FHS Bern (published in 2008 under the title Fear in Children with Mental Disabilities ), Beusch evaluates the children's book Der Grüffelo as a “clever monster story [… which] shows that one is strong through a protector can be". Brodocz, Llanque, Schaa deal in the foreword of their socio-political study from 2008, Threats to Democracy , with the plot of The Gruffalo and draw the parallel that “we have to form images of the threats (to democracy) before we can see them to encounter".

In 2019 a Deutsche Post stamp with the Gruffalo was released.

Awards

The book was awarded the Gold Award of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (1999) and the German Children's and Young Adult Book Prize Heidelberg Leander (2005).

expenditure

Julia Donaldson's book, with illustrations by Axel Scheffler , has already been translated into 26 languages ​​and over two million copies have been sold worldwide. As a sequel, The Gruffalo's Child has been published by the same author , who was also illustrated by Axel Scheffler (German edition: Das Gruffelokind ). The respective language editions were partly published as licensed editions by other book publishers. In addition, accompanying books have been published, such as The Gruffalo Activity Book with games, puzzles and coloring pages (German: The Gruffalo Puzzle Book ), as well as audio book editions and media combinations in different languages . In addition, the Gruffalo has its own English-language website .

German editions (selection)

  • The gruffalo . Beltz & Gelberg , Weinheim 1999, ISBN 3-407-79230-1 ; 13th edition 2008. (Translated from the English by Monika Osberghaus)
  • The gruffalo . Beltz & Gelberg, Weinheim 2002, ISBN 3-407-79291-3 ; 5th edition 2008. (Edition as cardboard picture book; translated from English by Monika Osberghaus)
  • The Gruffalo and the Gruffalo Child. With a Gruffalo song in English and German . Hörcompany, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-935036-77-9 . ( Audio book , 1  CD with booklet ; spoken and sung by Ilona Schulz, translated from English by Monika Osberghaus; The Gruffalo song sung by Imelda Staunton ; direction and concept: Angelika Schaack)
  • The gruffalo. A picture book cinema based on the picture book by Axel Scheffler and Julia Donaldson . Media combination, Verlag media nova, Landshut 2006/2007; Licensed edition by the Beltz & Gelberg publishing house, Weinheim.
    • The gruffalo . Book (reprint).
    • The gruffalo . 24  color slides .
    • Hans Gärtner: Didactic-methodological notes .
    • Copy templates for reading promotion and creative work .

English editions (selection)

Movie

Magic Light Pictures producer Michael Rose produced an animated film based on the picture book for the BBC in 2009 . Directed by the two Germans Jakob Schuh and Max Lang . The animation, storyboards and the set construction were created by the South German studio Soi . The voices in the original English version are voiced by Helena Bonham Carter , Rob Brydon , Robbie Coltrane and James Corden . Christian Ulmen , Heike Makatsch , Edgar Selge and Otto Sander speak in the German version . The German first broadcast was on December 24, 2010 at 10:40 a.m. on ZDF. In 2011, The Gruffalo was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

Philatelic

With the initial issue date 1 March 2019 which gave German Post AG , a special stamp in the denomination out of 70 euro cents with the motif of the Gruffalo. The design comes from the graphic artist Bettina Walter from Bonn.

Trivia

The Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg , Winfried Kretschmann , published audio book versions of the book he had read in Swabian and High German at Easter 2020 .

literature

  • Kate Hebblethwaite, Elizabeth McCarthy: Fear. Essays on the Meaning and Experience of Fear. Aspects of an emotion . Four Courts Press, Dublin 2007, ISBN 978-1-8468-2070-0 ; S. 148. (English)
  • André Brodocz / Marcus Llanque / Gary Schaal (Eds.): Threats to Democracy . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 978-3-531-14409-2 , p. 7 (foreword)
  • Manuel Beusch: Anxiety in children with intellectual disabilities. Basics, prevention and coping options for school . GRIN Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-638-92623-0 , p. 93. (also diploma thesis; FHS Bern 2007)
  • Theresia Schreiber: Translation impossible? Difficulties in drafting a translation of picture books using the case study “The Gruffalo” , Norderstedt: Grin 2009, ISBN 978-3-640-56430-9 , limited preview in the Google book search

Web links

Commons : Gruffalo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: The Fox and the Tiger  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stadt Land Mama: The story of the Gruffalo is a bit bold ... but we still love it! , City Mama Katharina, October 14, 2013
  2. ^ Robert McCrum: Where the Gruffalo roams - Interview: Julia Donaldson . In: The Guardian , August 29, 2004. 
  3. ↑ Julia Donaldson : Julia Donaldson: Answers to your questions - Where did the inspiration for the Gruffalo come from? , accessed on February 3, 2019
  4. ↑ Rossipotti - Literature Lexicon for Children: Axel Scheffler , Sarah Wildeisen, August 18, 2011
  5. ↑ a b successful children's book "Gruffalo". Terrible claws, terrible teeth , article by Tilman Spreckelsen in the FAZ of December 6, 2006, p. 37 (last accessed: June 28, 2009).
  6. ↑ [1]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.theater.de  
  7. ↑ See Hans Gärtner in Didactic-methodical notes - The Gruffalo. A picture book cinema . media nova, Landshut 2006/2007.
  8. ↑ Bibliographical information: s. #Literature
  9. ↑ Gruffalo
  10. ↑ The Gruffalo official website Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler, 1999, accessed on September 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ Katherine Rushton: BBC1 to animate Gruffalo Broadcast, accessed September 18, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Dr Grüffelo" read by Winfried Kretschmann (in Swabian). Retrieved April 12, 2020 .
  13. ↑ "The Gruffalo" read by Winfried Kretschmann. Retrieved April 12, 2020 .