EDWINA the EMU & The GRUFFALO

Childhood life is remarkable as that is the time one learns and live with happy things. One of those happy things is Children Stories. They are not just stories but carries good values and motivation for not only children but also for the adults as well. Unlike young adult stories, children stories are short, simple, rhyming, colourful and easily understood. Sheena Knowles’s Edwina The Emu and Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo are two good examples of children stories among the good ones.

Edwina The Emu is a story of two Emus who were Edwina, the female Emu and the male, Edward. They were very close and Edwina laid ten eggs. This made Edwina had to go to look out for a job to sustain her family and placed her husband to take care of her eggs. First, she thought she could become a ballet dancer but she was rejected because of what she is. Then she thought she could become a chimney sweeper but again she was rejected due to the same reason. After then, she taught she become a waiter and a customer whom she attended said he can eat ten eggs at a time and she realised that she best suits to become a mother. Immediately, she flew to her nest and relieved after saw her eggs were save in her husband’s supervision.

I think this story is suitable for not only children but also the adults as well because it has a lot of good values such as hardwork, responsibility and love. The way the story is written in such a polite way with colorful illustrations will definitely attract reader’s attention. Furthermore, rhyming sentences and simple structure will surely make the one to comprehend the story easily.

The Gruffalo is a story of a mouse’s cunningness. When first it met fox, the mouse said that there is an animal who eats roasted fox and when asked who is the animal, the mouse named it The Gruffalo. Secondly, it met owl and said The Gruffalo loves to eat Owl when asked what is a Gruffalo, the mouse described it with ugly and strange frightening features. Then, the escaped from the owl same as how she escaped from the fox. As the mouse was walking, it met with a snake by a lakeside. Again, slickness of the mouse is seen when it escaped from the snake by saying that the Gruffalo likes to eat scrambled snake. Finally, an unexpected twist in this story as the fantasy animal came real in front of the mouse. Immediately the mouse said that everyone in the jungle is afraid of it. To prove that, the mouse make the Gruffalo to follow it. As they walk, all those three animals that it met showed signs of afraidness when they saw the mouse come with the Gruffalo. Finally, the mouse again escaped from the Gruffalo as well with its intelligence.

I think this story is suitable for all age group because it explains survival skills. Eventhough element of telling lies is everywhere in this story, it gives a lesson that lies are told to protect oneself. The way this story is written is nice with simple language and colourful pictures. These helps to develop imagination in one’s mind and helps to understand this story better. Kids will love this story because they will be motivated when someone like them (mouse) can win over anything big (Fox, Owl, Snake and Gruffalo).