FIZA PATHAN'S TEACHING PORTFOLIO FOR PGCITE https://fizapathansteachingportfolioforpgcite.com ---------------------------------------- BOOK REVIEW: 'THE GRUFFALO' BY JULIA DONALDSON & AXEL SCHEFFLER Date: 2025-04-10 Author: Fiza Pathan Format: Braille-Ready Text (BRF) Website: fizapathansteachingportfolioforpgcite.com ---------------------------------------- 0.9× Title of the Book: The Gruffalo Author: Julia Donaldson Illustrator: Axel Scheffler Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books Publication Year: 1999 (reprint edition 2014) Pages: 26 pgs. ISBN: 978-1-4472-7487-2 Age Group: PYP (Grades 1 & 2) Genre: 20th Century Contemporary Animal Stories Classic (Board Book Format) IBDP & IGCSE Subjects Covered: English, Wellbeing, Reading Review Written By: Fiza Pathan Introduction A good book remains with you long after the book is shut, but a great book stays with you all your life. ‘The Gruffalo’ is a kind of book that was a sensation in 1999, when the first ‘The Gruffalo’ board book and hardback came out. It tells the story of a cunning and witty mouse who teaches us that even a Primary School storybook can be a form of a philosophical treatise through an ingenious plot and fiery climax. Who could ever think one PYP school animal story could have so many layers in one awesome and unique plot? This book brings to the forefront elements of psychology, sociology, logic, philosophy, and even stoicism, stunning readers both young and old with its complexity and depth. Unfortunately, the sequel to the first Gruffalo book did not meet up to the expectations of the fantastic first magnum opus of author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, but the first book was outstandingly done with illustrations worthy of a younger reader’s constant perusal over the years at a primary school. It is a book that even adults will appreciate and chuckle over. It reminded this reviewer so much of the elements of stoicism, especially in the light of the original teachings of Socrates told in the light of the writings of Stoicism’s founder Zeno and the writings of the Catholic favorite and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. There is so much complex philosophical and stoical richness in this story that it not only entertains and regales adults apart from their primary school PYP wards, but it can also be a point of much ethical debate over the topic of perceptions and opinions of people who let the environment determine their emotions, and the imbalance of what Sfurti Sahare sports author extraordinaire calls the ‘monkey chatter’ in one’s head. If a perceptive individual or PYP student reads ‘The Gruffalo, ’ they will grow into rational thinking higher secondary students who will not let their opinion cloud the facts. They will grow into future IBDP TOK inquirers, which will be the highlight of their overall education at the International Board. They will not let the useless and banal opinions of others, which are not based on deductive reasoning and analytical evaluation, cloud their conclusive positive action-oriented analysis of a situation or global issue. I would certainly recommend this book to every PYP classroom the world over because it can surely change the lives of many curious inquirers in our IGCSE and IBDP schools globally, making them into well rounded ethically minded citizens who do not jump to conclusions but influence the opinions of others to steer towards a more analytical way of thinking and towards solving real-world problems on a mass scale. A PYP student will especially learn how to overcome their fears by changing how they perceive the people and situations they encounter. Synopsis This story takes place in a dark forest somewhere in the USA, as can be ascertained by the animal characters chronicling this colorful book's board pages. A tiny mouse is on a journey through that forest and, on his way, meets a few predators that seek his life. However, they are amazed to hear from the shrewd mouse the information that he was supposed to go to meet a legendary and seemingly frightening creature known as the Gruffalo, for tea. What happens next and whether the little cunning mouse meets with the Gruffalo and has tea with him or turns into the Gruffalo’s tea is what the curious reader must find out by reading ‘The Gruffalo’. The story teaches the reader how to develop a number of the PYP transdisciplinary skills, especially effective communication skills, social skills, thinking skills, and most importantly, self-management skills, especially in the case of an emergency that needs impromptu quick thinking and calculative positive action to make one’s family, locality and the world a better place to live and breathe in. Analysis One can gain various intrinsic and extrinsic elements from ‘The Gruffalo’. One important factor was the topic of conquering one’s fear. But it is not merely about conquering one’s fear; in a typical IBDP TOK fashion, it is trying to question the nature of fear itself. ‘The Gruffalo’ analyzes: 1. What does one fear? 2. How are we conditioned to think of certain creatures as fearful and not others? 3. How can one condition oneself to overcome this fear syndrome by thinking analytically and rationalizing fear? 4. After rationalizing fear, how do you overcome it by making fear submit to you than you to it? This particular theme of fear aligns with the IB theme of trying to ‘know what we know’ in the TOK or Theory of Knowledge way. It is fascinating to see the cunning mouse deflecting his predators, namely the fox, the owl, and the snake, away from him by using their own conditioned prejudices and stereotypes about ‘creatures that they should fear’. He does this intelligently by referring to a character known as the Gruffalo. He paints a nasty picture of this so-called forest monster to the fox, the owl, and the snake, working on their worst individual fears, thus driving them away from him while he could go on for a stroll in the dark forest. Through the mouse, the author breaks down why we fear what we fear in a subtle and easy-to-understand manner. It is then further engrained in the minds of the curious readers when the actual Gruffalo appears ready to devour the mouse, who for a minute was caught off guard but immediately after regaining his composure, in turn, frightens the Gruffalo telling him that he (the mouse) was the most fearsome creature in the dark forest. When the Gruffalo accompanies the mouse back through the path through which it comes to the Gruffalo’s forest area, they meet up with the snake, the owl, and the fox. Seeing the mouse with the Gruffalo, they ran, flew, or slithered from sight, making the Gruffalo think that they were truly afraid of the mouse, and so he, in turn, got scared of the mischievous but wise mouse at the end of the tale. Again, in this instance, the reader questions why we fear what we fear and whether such fears are to incapacitate them or us or whether one should rationalize fear into oblivion from our system. This is beautifully seen in the main skeleton of the plot. Another theme evident from the text mentioned by the reviewer before in the introduction is the theme of stoicism in the light of the writings of Marcus Aurelius. For those of us who do not recall the writings or contribution of this great man of letters to philosophy and even, for that matter, Catholic and Christian Philosophy, let us recall to mind his teachings through some of these important quotes in the light of this board book ‘The Gruffalo’: ' THE HAPPINESS OF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS UPON THE QUALITY OF YOUR THOUGHTS.’ ‘IF YOU ARE DISTRESSED BY ANYTHING EXTERNAL, THE PAIN IS NOT DUE TO THE THING ITSELF, BUT TO YOUR ESTIMATE OF IT; AND THIS YOU HAVE THE POWER TO REVOKE AT ANY MOMENT.’ ‘You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.’ ‘Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.’ ‘The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.’ All these erudite thoughts of Aurelius are contained in his own magnum opus ‘Meditations’. It incorporates the value of critical thinking and makes the reader realize that what one fears is only a perspective on fear and not an actual reality. An actual reality would be when we purposely try to touch a burning candle with our bare hands. We then get singed because fire is a reality that can burn human flesh. Yet even with the metaphysics developed in the Yoga Sutras of Master Patanjali and the Kriya Yoga and Raja Yoga of Master Paramahansa Yogananda and Swami Vivekananda, not to mention the rigorous Raja Yoga of the Gospels of Lord Jesus and Lord Buddha, respectively, humans have even managed to contain or overcome such ‘fearsome’ objects as well. This can be incorporated into India's new NEP Policy in ‘The Gruffalo’ teaching. So, everything is an opinion, which becomes a perspective and a truth for a human being. The mouse in this story had tweaked the system by not giving in to opinions and respecting various perspectives, that is, of the fox, the owl, the snake, and then the Gruffalo himself. To his advantage and for the greater good, the mouse then eliminated fear from his life in the forest by distancing himself from fear and deflecting it, thus securing a safe haven to live with peace and dignity in the society of the dark forest. This is because the wise mouse followed the sage principles of Marcus Aurelius to the core and did not let his life be determined by his thoughts, especially not his negative thoughts. As Aurelius stated, ‘The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.’ The mouse, as Lord Buddha said in his Gospel and the parable of the four wives, did not allow his three dominating wives, namely materialism, pride, or fear, to have a sway over him, but only his human wife or as nationally bestselling sports author Sfurti Sahare stated his human/rational monkey was only allowed to control him as mentioned before in this review. Also, the mouse, instead of seeing the first three predators and then the Gruffalo as an obstacle, used this ‘so-called’ obstacle as a solution to the problem of finding a safe haven for himself in the dark forest without fear or worry about predators. ‘The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.’ - Marcus Aurelius (Meditations) This quote or theory of Aurelius makes one realize that obstacles are only hidden opportunities that can lead one to one’s desired goal or success for the good of one’s community, locality, or country. Then, the opportunity becomes the way forward, leading the person onward by making him rich with fortitude, experience, and wisdom. Even if the obstacle is a so-called failure in an exam, that does not indicate the real meaning of failure by analysis. As IB and IGCSE students know, failure is not about falling but about remaining where one has fallen. We have to learn from our mistakes and learn from the obstacles in the form of challenges that beset us. The mouse indeed saw each predator as an opportunity to gift him, and all others technically vulnerable like him, a way towards living peacefully in the dark forest. Through the little mouse, IB and IGCSE PYP students can learn the many more explicit and implicit meanings hidden in the text of the Gruffalo. Some are listed below: 1. Explicit Meanings: - How to overcome fear - How to be daring or a risk-taker - How to become a great communicator - How collaboration, even with the opponent, can lead to a desired good consequence, such as the mouse teaming up with the Gruffalo to prove that the former was more fearsome than the latter. - Metaphors galore 2. Implicit Meaning: - The Stoicism of Marcus Aurelius - Reverse Psychology - How to know what we fear and why we fear - To undo negative conditioning regarding fear stereotypes and prejudices. - How to tame one’s negative emotional monkeys. - How one can use an obstacle in one’s path to move forward instead of letting it remain as an obstacle. - How to use one’s creative thinking abilities for the greater good. Personal Message I thoroughly enjoyed the book but cannot get enough of it. I can see so many more implicit layers hidden within the fold of this rich and unique plot that I could spend days theorizing or writing a thesis on the topic. I also found so many elements of epistemology in this book that it is unbelievable! Unfortunately, time is not on my side, so I have only recorded here on my Portfolio a few of the themes I have gleaned from the text. I found the book to be engaging, colorful, and poignant. It was chuckle-worthy even for an adult, and I can surely see many students benefitting from this book, especially in thinking out of the box. The illustrations were done simply like a typical 1990s Ladybird book illustration, which was befitting for the plot because the story itself was more of a focal point than the illustrations. As a fan of Quentin Blake and Tony Ross, I would have loved it if the book had been illustrated in their iconic style, as seen in Roald Dahl and David Walliams books, which they both illustrated. It would not have sounded so serious, and it would have added a more humorous touch to the story; but then again, it is just an opinion and perspective, not a value-judgement on the book itself. The illustrations are in the classic mold, which worked well in 1999 to perfection. The author considered this an exceptionally brilliant tour de force story that PYP children and their parents can easily lap up. Conclusion Par excellence, tour de force, captivating, suspenseful, and erudite nevertheless is what I would call ‘The Gruffalo’. It was rewarding also to read the second part of the sequel to this first book in the Gruffalo series, but unfortunately, the sequel does not match up with the stellar first book. However, the illustrations in the second book, ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’, were done beautifully and much better than the illustrations in the first. Those who wish to meet up with the old characters and see how they look in a beautiful winter setting can easily invest in the second book and savor a bit of the memories of the first. Special Note If you want more book reviews, indie author interviews, book analyses, short story analyses, poems, essays, essay analyses, and other bookish content, check out my blog, insaneowl.com . If you are interested in purchasing my books, you can check the products page of my blog or on Amazon . There is a lot of good stuff to buy! Happy reading to you always! ©2025 Fiza Pathan ---------------------------------------- END OF DOCUMENT Fiza Pathan Publishing (OPC) Pvt Ltd Freedom With Pluralism, Mumbai, India Copyright 2026 Fiza Pathan. All Rights Reserved.