![]() ![]() This is a familiar device in many folk tales. In the Romanian tale, an underdog hero convinces a dragon of her own considerable might. Julia Donaldson uses the same device of tricking a formidable creature into thinking you’re much stronger than you are. The Gruffalo draws heavily from Alexandra the Rock-eater: An old Rumanian tale, retold by Dorothy Van Woerkom and published in picture book form in 1978. Julia Donaldson is a master at taking old folktales and rewriting them in rhyme for a contemporary audience. ![]() The Gruffalo is an example of mythic structure, which has been super successful as a story structure across cultures for the last 3000 years. Today I take a close look at The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson to show how universal structure exists behind all good stories. It works for picture books, songs, commercials, films and novels. This seven-step structure works for all forms of narrative. This month I’m blogging a series aimed at teaching kids how to structure a story. ![]()
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