The positive period continues for the publishing house Emme Edizioni and for children’s publishing. If we have already talked about Alice Hemming and her The Pumpkin Thief (translated by Giuditta Campello), protagonists on the September chart, now success rhymes with Grandma Gruffalo, the new volume in the series created by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler (translation by Laura Pelaschiar).
After The Gruffalo (1999) and The Gruffalo’s Child (2004), the family grows and welcomes into the leafy forest the figure of Grandma Gruffalo. Of course, the other friendly characters will not be missing either: the Fox, the Snake, the Owl, and the brave Mouse.
A global hit for children aged 3 and up
After more than 20 years since the last book, The Gruffalo returns to bookstores, and it is precisely its creator, born in London in 1948 and author of many children’s works, who tells the origin of the work and the decision to publish after such a long time. “Writing a sequel is always a challenge. Only when the National Literacy Trust, whose work impressed me greatly, used our first two books within its Early Words Matter program did I decide to pull my idea from the drawer and see if I could turn it into a truly satisfying story.”
Joining her is the renowned illustrator Axel Scheffler, who, on the other hand, says: “One day, suddenly, a wonderful new text from Julia arrived. Could I refuse? Of course not! Moreover, I am very happy that the Gruffalos will be involved in many charitable activities, thanks to the support of the National Literacy Trust, to reach even more young readers.”
And as the new book begins to climb the charts and spread among young readers, we must not forget the great success already achieved. The first two titles in the series have sold more than 18 million copies in total and have been translated into more than 100 languages.
