I just watched almost with excitement Michelle Obama reading “The Gruffalo ” aloud tonight in what appears will be a series of children’s books she’ll read over the next few weeks. I enjoyed her version more than I do my own :))). Looking forward to see her book selection.  

“The Gruffalo” was among our first books and we love it. It takes me back to the fables that were so fashionable at school when I was a kid. I still remember my husband guessing the story when he heard me reading it for the first time. He must have read an awful lot of fables in his time :))). 

 A “little brown mouse” outwits some of the slyest animals out there: a fox, an owl and a snake by making up a terrible creature to scare them, “a gruffalo”, who turns out to be real. And the mouse outwits the gruffalo, too. Who knew little mice were so smart and witty?! All in a very catchy and funny rhyme.

Little gosling does not have the patience yet to listen through the entire story; half way through he starts focusing exclusively on the illustrations. We observe them very attentively and he can now identify even the smallest ant. His favourite is the owl’s treetop house. Also, this was the first place where he saw a woodpecker; I did the Woody Woodpecker laugh that he found hilarious. Now he’s asking for it every time he sees a woodpecker (“sing that!”). Mommy can recite it by heart wherever, but the book usually travels with us. I’m guessing it will stick in our book bin for a good while still.