Author Julia Donaldson has announced the third installment of her iconic illustrated book about the Gruffalo – for the first time in two decades.
Writer Julia Donaldson is bringing back one of the most beloved characters in children’s literature – the Gruffalo. The BBC reports this.
The third installment of the series will be released in 2025 – exactly 20 years after the publication of The Gruffalo’s Child (2004) and 26 years after the first book (1999), which instantly became a hit.
Both previous installments sold a total of more than 18 million copies and were translated into 107 languages. They have been used in theater productions, TV series, and animated films, one of which was nominated for an Oscar.
The author admits that the idea for a new story appeared a long time ago, but for a long time she could not find the right plot. The final push came from concerns about the decline in children’s interest in reading. According to the UK’s National Literacy Trust (NLT), in 2024 only 35% of children aged 8 to 18 will read in their spare time – the lowest figure in 20 years.
“Writing a sequel is always difficult. It was five years between The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child, and now it will be over 20 years between The Gruffalo’s Child and the third book. In fact, I had the basic idea for this story for a long time, but I couldn’t figure out how to develop it,” Donaldson said in a statement.
Little is known about the new book, but the author promises to take readers back to the same dark forest where the first adventure began. It is expected that this time the plot will be full of humor, fantasy, and a clever child who outsmarts much larger and scarier opponents.
