Chose from several free tools or use adobe indesign or adobe lightroom. The book has sold over million copies, has won several prizes for childrens literature, and has been developed into plays on both the west end and broadway and even an oscar nominated animated film. Sometimes it can feel like writing the book is the easy part. Julia donaldson is one of todays most popular writers. Thats why you want to write a book blurb that sells. Can you think of other words to describe the gruffalo. The main characters of this childrens, picture books story are. Blurb, back cover copy, jacket copy, or promotional copy whatever you call it, a great book description is your second best marketing tool your cover is number one. Fifth grade lesson the blurb on the back betterlesson. In the case of the gruffalo, it teaches the importance of staying calm under pressure and thinking creatively.
This is perhaps why children never seem to tire of reading it, and the same goes for adults. Say, students, read the blurb on the back of your book and be ready to talk about what is happening or what you expect is going to happen in your book based on what the blurb says. In this free video i will explain the various activities that are part of my gruffalo c. This special 15th anniversary edition of the gruffalo s child is a musthave for all julia donaldson and axel scheffler fans.
Gruffalo activities gruffalo party the gruffalo learning cards kids learning gruffalo characters talk 4 writing cycle 1 stickers. The mouse pretends to be the scariest creature in the wood. Whether its your first or twentieth book, enticing a reader to buy your book relies on an eyecatching cover image as well as an intriguing blurb. If youd like, you can add a page with information, although it isnt nec. Since it was first published in 1999, the awardwinning story of his encounter with the little brown mouse in the deep dark wood has continued to delight children and adults the world over. The gruffalo s child by julia donaldson is a sequel to the fantastic the gruffalo. But, if you have caught a potential readers attention, the blurb is what will sell your book and convert readers.
A lesson in theme the gruffalo successful women of israel. When mouse meets fox in the deep dark wood, he invents a story about the gr. As mouse explains, the gruffalo is a creature with terrible claws, and terrible. The gruffalo lesson plans reading comprehension for k2. Pdf the gruffalo book gruffalo free download 32 pages. The gruffalo by julia donaldson goodreads share book. If youre using bookwright, there is no default page. Blurb create, print, and sell professionalquality photo. In ebook and selfpublishing, a book blurb is whats used on the main online sales page. Free gruffalo printable activity sheets fun finds for families. Get a professionally written book blurb that will sell. Create, print, and sell professionalquality photo books, magazines, trade books, and ebooks with blurb. Hi all, i used this as a quick starter for my lowers to get them engaged and thinking about the words in a blurb as we have read the julia donaldson books, the children were able to match them giving reasons for answers.
The gruffalo by julia donaldson julia donaldson has created a number of famous titles that many children are familiar with. This resource is the perfect companion to these popular books. A collection of downloadable worksheets, exercises and activities to teach the gruffalo, shared by english language teachers. So imagine his surprise when he meets the real gruffalo. The process is exactly the same as writing a blurb for a fiction book, although the blurb will focus on selling the benefits of the book to the potential reader and how the book will help them if they buy it, rather than trying to hook them into a.
The blurb that appears on the back cover of your book, and on your amazon page, will either. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Julia is a british author whose books include the gruffalo, the gruffalo s child and one of our favorite books around here, room on the broom. Creating a book blurb, while still technically writing, is closer to a science than an art. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. The gruffalo is one of the worlds bestloved monsters. Watch this video in which julia donaldson talks about how she wrote the book. As much as book covers catch readers attention, blurbs grip shoppers and convince them to buy books. The gruffalo, too, has won many awards, including the nestle smarties prize and the blue peter award for the best book to read aloud and in 2009 was voted the uks favourite bedtime story.
The story about a little mouse that is walking through the dark forest, encounters a number of animals that want to eat him as a tasty meal. The book tells the story of a mouse taking a walk through the forest and running in to. How to write a book blurb in 4 steps the opening of your blurb has to be incredibly precise and dynamic, says editor rebecca heyman. The gruffalo is a childrens book by writer and playwright julia donaldson, illustrated by axel scheffler, that tells the story of a mouse, the protagonist of the book, taking a walk in the woods.
This month for the virtual book club for kids, we are spotlighting julia donaldson. He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws. Try one of the apps below to open or edit this item. The gruffalo is a delightful childrens book by writer and playwright julia donaldson, illustrated by axel scheffler.
The story of a mouses walk through the woods unfolds in two phases. Welcome to esl printables, the website where english language teachers exchange resources. The gruffalo book and toy gift set the box set includes a mini gift hardback of the full classic story along with a cuddly gruffalo toy, complete with purple prickles, poisonous wart and terrible tusks. The gruffalo is one of those rare childrens books that translates perfectly on to the small. Fail to engage your target readers in that sense, a good blurb is anything but subjective. They are fun and inspiring and teach a little lesson. A clever mouse outsmarts some woodland animals who want to eat him with the story of a gruffalo. I wondered if such a successful childrens book was perhaps so successful because its theme was tightly woven into the fibres of its story. The other book we own from julia, room on the broom, teaches the importance of strong relationship. There are lots of cute, okay books out there for preschoolers but, for me, this one stands out from the crowd like winnie the witch and dear zoo. The gruffalo is another thoroughly enjoyable book by donaldson and scheffler, with wonderful illustrations. How to write a catchy backcover blurb that sells 2020. The gruffalo s child 15th anniversary edition features a wraparound snowy wood play scene and pressout characters for an interactive reading experience, plus additional book content including material from author julia donaldson and illustrator.
A mouse is taking a stroll through the deep, dark wood when along comes a hungry fox, then an owl, and then a snake. The story is told in lovely rhyming language and can be brought to life with some good voice variations. The story of the clever mouse and the gruffalo is one that children ages 3 to 6 love hearing again and again. Engaging 5day lesson plans with differentiated reading response, vocabulary, sentence study, and a craft for this fun story. A huge thank you to christine fraser and the staff of the schools in the mount druitt seg for sharing their amazing work. When writing a novel, there are few selling tools as important as a solidly written book blurb. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. The gruffalo is a humorous story to read out loud during story time. The gruffalo is a childrens book by writer and playwright julia donaldson, illustrated by axel. The gruffalo and the gruffalos child board book gift slipcase. Work by convincing readers to take a chance on it, or.
The mouse is good enough to eat but smart enough to know this, so he invents. As mouse explains, the gruffalo is a creature with terrible claws, and terrible tusks in its terrible jaws, and knobbly knees and turnedout toes, and a poisonous wart at the end of its nose. Free download or read online the gruffalo pdf epub gruffalo series book. For a lot of firsttime authors, i think theres an instinct to make sure readers understand everything that happened in the book s universe before the beginning of the actual story. Also, the story arc, with the first half of the story about the mouse fooling the fox, then the owl, then the snake with tales of the imaginary gruffalo and the second half of the story when the mouse. Worse than the cover, worse than the writing in the book itself, there are a lot of blurbs on amazon that are pretty near atrocious. Get a professionally written book blurb that will sell more books. The gruffalo creator julia donaldson reveals the story. Woodland creature writing frames the gruffalo, writing. There is good a use of rhymes, descriptive vocabulary and repetition throughout the story which gives it a nice flow and makes you want to read on. Give them a few minutes to figure out tricky words and to synthesize the information. Could also use it to begin topic and ask what the story could be about.
The gruffalo themed activities the educators spin on it. With ebooks, in particular, they are absolutely essential to selling your ebooks. Explore our editors picks for the best kids books of the month. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 32 pages and is available in paperback format. How to write a book blurb by far, the weakest part of many selfpublished books is the synopsis found on amazon and elsewhere. The gruffalo preschool activities and crafts kidssoup. My gruffalo resource is packed with fun activities, writing prompts, crafts, and ideas that pair perfectly with the gruffalo and the gruffalo s child.
This video from new york times bestseller alessandra torre details why your book s blurb is crucially important and shares her easy equation for creating one. The rhythm and rhyme of julia donaldsons story, along with the strong story arc, make the gruffalo an excellent read aloud. The author, julia donaldson, has written a good story with such strong rhythm and rhyme that it just begs to be read aloud. When defining a blurb its important to distinguish between a description blurb. After watching julia donaldsons videos describing how she created her books and the gruffalo in her head, we just had to get our hands on the books and activities we were so delighted to open our box that was full a variety of products. Fiction or nonfiction basic blurb cover copyproduct description for fiction or nonfiction extended product description. The gruffalo is a modern classic written by the incomparable julia donaldson and beautifully illustrated by axel scheffler. Besides the rhythm and the rhyme, some of the other things that make the gruffalo a good book for reading aloud to young children are the repetitions which encourage children to chime in.
Although she is bestknown for her picture books, julia also writes longer novels, plays and songs. A book blurb also called a backcover blurb or a book description is a short description of the book s main character and conflict, usually between 100 and 200 words, that traditionally is included on the inside cover or on the back of a book. Many thanks some activities were taken from tes and edited to suit needs of my class. The short rhymes and their repetitive structure make the gruffalo a fun book to read aloud. The first edition of the novel was published in march 23rd 1999, and was written by julia donaldson. How to write a blurb definition, examples, and more. On back covers of books there is usually a summary which attempts to get the reader interested. The blurb equation how to write a kickbutt blurb youtube. The gruffalo wasnt around when my children were young but i had seen the animation of this book and have been waiting for my grand daughter to be old enough to make the purchase. The gruffalo and friends annual 2018 the official gruffalo and friends annual 2018 is bursting with fun stories, perfect puzzles.