The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo
Front cover of the first edition
AuthorJulia Donaldson
IllustratorAxel Scheffler
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's fantasy
PublisherMacmillan (UK)/Viking Children's Books (US)
Publication date
23 March 1999
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Pages32
ISBN0-333-71093-2
OCLC59379845
Followed byThe Gruffalo's Child 
Websitegruffalo.com

The Gruffalo is a British children's picture book by author Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It tells the story of a mouse taking a walk in the woods and deceiving different predators, including the Gruffalo. The Gruffalo was first published in 1999 in the United Kingdom by Macmillan Children's Books. It is about 700 words long and is written in rhyming couplets featuring repetitive verse. It is an example of a trickster story and was inspired by a Chinese folk tale called "The Fox that Borrows the Terror of a Tiger". The Gruffalo has sold over 13.5 million copies and has won several prizes for children's literature including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize.

It has been adapted into plays and an Oscar-nominated animated film. The book has inspired a range of merchandise, a commemorative coin, a theme park ride in Chessington World of Adventures, and a series of woodland trails. In 2004, The Gruffalo was followed by a sequel—The Gruffalo's Childalso written by Donaldson and illustrated by Scheffler.