Thanks to clever marketing and merchandising, some books become more famous than their content warrants; a few even become famous for being famous — for example, all the Dr Seuss books that people seem to know by name, even though they may not have read them or even a clue as to what they are all about.
The Gruffalo
falls into this rare and happy — for the authors and publishers, of course — latter category, thanks to its catchy title and the distinctive eponymous character. Fortunately, however, unlike certain bestsellers whose popularity is fuelled by undeservingly being on the bestsellers list in the first place — it’s a vicious cycle — The Gruffalo fully deserves the acclaim and hype that it has garnered in the 14 years since it was first published.
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