The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson with pictures by Axel Scheffler, is an amusing story, brilliantly illustrated, centering on the theme of using creativity and intelligence to get yourself out of trouble. Destined to be a favourite of your child between the ages of three to five, you will also love how The Gruffalo easily supports your child’s moral and language development.

The tale begins with a cunning mouse who ingeniously comes up with a plan to outwit the predatory animals that he encounters along a stroll in the woods. Tricking them into believing that he is about to meet up with an imaginary, monster-like creature called a Gruffalo, he manages to escape becoming lunch. When the mouse suddenly comes face-to-face with a real-life, hungry Gruffalo, he uses his cleverness, once again, to devise a plan to outsmart the Gruffalo. Convincing the Gruffalo that he is “[…] the scariest creature in [the] deep dark wood”, the mouse ultimately scares the Gruffalo away and returns to peaceful solitude.

The Gruffalo aids in teaching moral development. With each read, your child will be inspired by the mightiness the tiny mouse exerts. The mouse models the ideal behavior for children. His example of dealing with adversity through cleverness and creativity, as opposed to violence, is valuable to children who are still developing tools to handle situations that occur in their own lives. The mouse’s fierce independence will also be a quality that children who are asserting their own independence can relate to. Children will clearly see the mouse’s reward for his behavior at the conclusion of the story. You will love that he is rewarded by attaining happiness as opposed to material goods.

The Gruffalo also aids in teaching language development. Phonological awareness is easily taught by simply reading the delightfully repetitive, rhyming text. Pausing while reading will allow your child to predict rhyming words. The plot also follows a predictable pattern, supporting narrative structure learning. Expressive vocabulary can be taught by allowing your child to guess the description of the Gruffalo’s appearance. Children really enjoy doing this!

To get the most out of your reading session, try the following tips:

• Start out your storytelling session by asking your child to describe a nature walk that they have been on and any creatures that they encountered along the way.
• Ask your child what they think will happen when a small mouse encounters some bigger, hungry creatures in the woods.
• Following the story, you can ask your child what they thought of the mouse’s actions. What were the results? You can ask your child if they have ever stood up to anyone bigger than them (perhaps an older sibling). Next, if you’re feeling creative, you and your child can create your own Gruffalo by inventing your own description and making a paper bag puppet that your child can use to retell the story on their own.      

In closing, I highly recommend reading The Gruffalo. This great example of facing possibly dangerous situations with imagination and resourcefulness is sure to become a favourite read for you and your child. Your child will delight in the engaging illustrations, full of detail and humour, and the playful language. You will love the positive message and how the book helps you to reinforce literacy skills. The Gruffalo is simply so much fun to read together!

By Abigail Dionne

Have you ever struggled to get a toddler to settle down for bedtime? If so, “Dinosaur’s Binkit” by Sandra Boynton is just the book for you and your child! This hilarious story follows a very simple narrative of a cartoon dinosaur searching for his beloved “binkit” while being prompted through the usual bedtime routines that a young child can relate to. This connection to the familiar and the simple, repetitive, rhyming nature of language used, combined with the colorful illustrations and interactive features, make this book a must-have for a parent of a two-year old child.

“Dinosaur’s Binkit” comes in a sturdy board book format, making it an excellent choice for a two-year old to be free to handle the book as they wish. The simple, cartoon-like illustrations are not overly busy and are predominantly comprised of primary colours with the addition of green, allowing a two-year old to easily focus and engage with this book. Children of this age group will be eager to participate in the “hands on” features of lifting flaps, opening a door, and lifting a blanket, all which reveal punchlines in the dialogue making the child an active part of the story during each read. This matches a two-year old’s need to have some power in their experiences well. It also introduces an opportunity to extend the learning by talking about the concepts of under, behind, inside, as well as colours. A parent can ask questions like, “Do you want to lift the red blanket? What’s under the bed?” or “What’s behind the brown door?”. Logistical and colour concepts can then be reinforced by the parent.

  “Dinosaur’s Binkit” will teach excellent emergent literacy skills. The song-like refrain of “Dinosaur O Dinosaur” is repeated on nearly every page and will pull a two-year old child’s attention to the rhythmic language, helping a child to follow along with the remainder of each rhyme. The rhymes will promote the fun of language, increase a child’s vocabulary, and lead to a child’s better understanding of the patterns of language.    

Two-year olds will relate to Dinosaur’s love of his comfort object, his binkit, and his desperation to find it before continuing his night-time routine. They will also connect to the fact that Dinosaur is being prompted by someone else to continue preparing for bed, much like a child’s daily experience with their own parent who is reading the story to them.

  The simplistic narrative teaches two-year old children that things can still exist, even if you can’t see them or find them. Dinosaur never gives up searching for his binkit. This teaches children that when problems arrive, with patience and persistence, solutions can be found. This provides an opportunity for children to self-reflect on emotions. Parents can ask children how they feel when they can’t find a cherished object and how they feel when they eventually succeed in finding it. Experiencing Dinosaur finding his much-loved binkit and drifting off to sleep peacefully will help restless children settle for bed. Children will love flipping to the back cover and reciting the final lines “Good night Dinosaur. Goodnight Binkit.” before drifting off to sleep themselves.

In conclusion, this well-crafted book, although short, is jam-packed with engaging, educational, and entertaining elements that will keep parents and children coming back time and time again to delight in its humour and its reassuring, calming message. Parents will enjoy reading “Dinosaur O Dinosaur” as much as their child will love listening and participating in this beloved story!