From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2–In this sequel to
The Gruffalo (Dial, 1999), the wide-eyed daughter of that story's title character decides to find the "Big Bad Mouse" that her father has told her so much about. "His eyes are like pools of terrible fire,/and his terrible whiskers are tougher than wire." With her stick doll tucked under her arm, the youngster enters the deep, dark woods and follows marks in the snow to snake, owl, and fox. When she finally finds a little mouse, she grabs him for a feast, but the clever creature tricks her into running away to the comfort of her sleeping father's arms. The full-color cartoons portray a suitably sympathetic child in the snow-filled woods. While children may appreciate the details (the stick doll, snake tracks in the snow, gruffalo child's cave drawings) in the art, lack of change from picture to picture and in perspective diminish its effectiveness. The plot, rhymes, and art are all slightly weaker than the original tale. Purchase this where the first book is popular.
–Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Julia Donaldson is one of today's most popular writers for children. Among her many award-winning picture book collaborations with Axel Scheffler are THE GRUFFALO (978-0-333-71093-7), THE SNAIL AND THE WHALE (978-0-333-98224-2) and CHARLIE COOK'S FAVOURITE BOOK (978-1-4050-3470-8). Julia also writes plays and songs, and her brilliant children's shows are very popular. Axel Scheffler is a star illustrator in the children's book world, and has created many bestselling books for Macmillan. In addition to his acclaimed work with Julia Donaldson he is also the creator of wonderful novelty books such as THE TICKLE BOOK (978-1-4050-5363-1), as well as MOTHER GOOSE'S NURSERY RHYMES (978-0-333-96136-0), a treasury of nursery rhymes and original stories.