A new Gruffalo book is in the works – more than two decades after the original was published.
Best-selling author Julia Donaldson is collaborating with German illustrator Axel Scheffler to bring another version of the children’s classic to life.
The new picture story – so far untitled – is due to hit the shelves in September 2026.
Donaldson hopes the book will rival the success of its predecessors, The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child, which are among the most popular children’s titles in the world.
The first stories have taken the literary world by storm ever since they were published in 1999 and 2004 respectively.
Both have been translated into 107 languages or dialects with The Gruffalo selling 3.2m copies to date, and The Gruffalo’s Child 2.1m copies.
The new book ‘sees the return of much-loved characters in a fresh and exciting adventure that has all the hallmarks of a Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler classic,’ according to the book’s publisher Macmillan.
‘It’s always a challenge to write a sequel,’ Donaldson said in a statement.
A new Gruffalo book is in the works – more than two decades after the original was published
Seasoned best-selling author Julia Donaldson (pictured) is collaborating with Axel Scheffler to bring another version of the children’s classic to life
‘Five years elapsed between publication of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child, and now it will be more than 20 between The Gruffalo’s Child and the third book.
‘I actually had the basic idea for the story a long time ago, but couldn’t think how to develop it.
‘It was only when the NLT, whose work I’m very impressed by, used the first two books as part of their Early Words Matter programme that I was spurred on to get my idea out of the cupboard and see once and for all if I could turn it into a really satisfying story.
‘To my surprise, I managed to do just that!’
Axel Scheffler said: ‘Never say never – a lesson learned for me who, whenever asked, denied the possibility of another visit to the deep dark wood.
‘Till one day out of the blue there came a wonderfully clever and inspired new text by Julia. How does she do this? Could I decline? Of course not!’
Axel Scheffler’s first collaboration with Donaldson was a picture book about an unhappy elderly lady who brings a group of farmyard animals into her small home, A Squash and a Squeeze, published in 1993.
Since then they have have published more than 30 books together, the most famous being the Gruffalo titles.
