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The Gruffalo: Product Reviews and a Giveaway!

March 26, 2013 by Katie Filed Under: Books and Literacy Activities, Giveaways, Product Reviews, Therapy Ideas and Activities, Therapy Materials and Product Recomendations 72 Comments

Disclaimer: The items reviewed in this post were supplied to me by the great people at The Gruffalo for me to review and keep at no cost. The opinions and thoughts are mine alone. This post contains affiliate links. 

The Gruffalo Review & Giveaway

Last week I shared some fun activities we did to go along with The Gruffalo. Today I’m going to share some additional actrivities we did to go along with the Gruffalo thanks to the wonderful people at The Gruffalo! They teamed up with several of the Virtual Book Club for Kids hosts this month to host some great product reviews and giveaways of their products that go along with the book. Here is what we did!

We Watched The Gruffalo: The Movie

The Gruffalo Movie is a short film (approx 30 minutes) based on the book. After reading the book every night for over a week, my kids were pretty stoked to find out that there was a film version! This sweet film is narrated by the actress Helena Bonham Carter and basically follows the book very closely. My children LOVED it, and in fact watched it twice the first day we had it. I love the simple and soothing background music and the overall calm vibe the film has.

We Played The Gruffalo Rhyming Card Game

Another box my daughter couldn’t WAIT to open was the The Gruffalo Rhyming Card Game. This game is actually TWO games! The first is the Gruffalo Word Rhyming Game is a fun little game where you work on finding the matching rhyming words. There are directions for the game included in the cards, and we also used the cards to play Go Fish for rhyming words. My daughter and I really enjoyed the games and I think the game would work well in a small group speech session as well! In the second game, There is No Such Thing as a Graffalo, the object is to collect all the cards in your “family” or in other words, all the animals in the story. This one is also fun and would be a great one for a small speech session. Both games are intended for 2-4 players for ages 4 and up. My daughter is 4 and I would say that 4 is the youngest I would play these games for sure.

DSC_5951

We Played with The Gruffalo Fun Pocket

Gruffalo Fun Pocket Travel Play Kit is a Colorform set. It includes two picture scenes (not identical but similar) and two sets of Colorform Stickies (each contains the basic characters of the stories and then some other items like flowers, bugs, mushrooms, etc). Both my kids loved these and enjoyed playing with them. My daughter made up stories as she went! I plan on getting a second set, which would then give me two complete sets of barrier games that I can use in therapy sessions as barrier games and for use in narrations/storytelling skills! As for home use, the great travel size makes them ideal to throw in your bag to take to restaurants to keep the littles busy as you wait for your food 😉

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A Giveaway!

Now that you have had the chance to read my post about The Gruffalo as well as the reviews of these products, how would you like to win some! The great people at Gruffalo will be giving one of my readers here a copy of The Gruffalo book and the Gruffalo DVD! All you need to do is use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Giveaway is open to US residents with mailing addresses in the US ages 18 and over only. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Giveaway open through Monday April 1st at 11:59pm pacific standard time. Please read the full Giveaway Rules in the Rafflecopter Widget before entering. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Katie

Katie is a licensed, credentialed and certified pediatric speech-language pathologist and mom to four (8, 6, 3 and 6 months). Her passion for educating, inspiring and empowering parents of children with all abilities led her to start her blog playing with words 365 where she shares information about speech & language development & intervention strategies, parenting, photography and a little about her family life too. Katie has been working in the field of speech pathology for 12 years and is certified in The Hanen Centre’s It Takes Two to Talk ® and Target Word ® programs and holds a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). In addition to blogging and being a mommy, Katie works part time in her small private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Comments

  1. Maria says

    March 26, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    I love the idea of turning the Travel Kit into a barrier game!! I particularly like using barrier games with my preschool/early elementary fluency kiddos. Thanks for the great ideas and introducing me to this talented author!

    Reply
  2. Laura says

    March 26, 2013 at 2:28 pm

    The rhyming game looks fun!

    Reply
  3. Jemima McPherson says

    March 26, 2013 at 2:53 pm

    I would love this for my 2 year old little girl!

    Reply
  4. Marya Arnett says

    March 26, 2013 at 3:08 pm

    This looks like a fun character to get kids excited the stories. I love the extra materials!

    Reply
  5. Carrie Manchester says

    March 26, 2013 at 3:35 pm

    I LOVE this book! I haven’t tried any “products,” but I use the story stick from Making Learning Fun to retell the story and the Mixed-Up-Monster app for describing a monster.
    Carrie Manchester recently posted..Service Delivery and the Common CoreMy Profile

    Reply
  6. Stephanie says

    March 26, 2013 at 3:40 pm

    I haven’t ever used them, but this looks fun!

    Reply
  7. mizspeech says

    March 26, 2013 at 3:42 pm

    The Gruffalo Fun Pocket Travel Play Kit is my favorite. Lots of uses in therapy sessions.

    Reply
  8. Carly says

    March 26, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    I would say the book is my favorite that you mentioned!

    Reply
  9. Angela @ OMazing Kids says

    March 26, 2013 at 4:14 pm

    I have been wanting to get the Gruffalo book to use in OMazing Kids Yoga but the game looks fun too!

    Reply
  10. Felice Clark says

    March 26, 2013 at 4:52 pm

    I love the book! Never read it before, but it looks super cute.

    Reply
  11. Paula Townsend says

    March 26, 2013 at 6:02 pm

    The Fun Pocket Travel Play Kit looks great and would have so many uses.

    Reply
  12. Karen says

    March 26, 2013 at 6:04 pm

    These ideas look so cool! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  13. Sarah V says

    March 26, 2013 at 7:06 pm

    I’ve been seeing this book everywhere! Would love to have this

    Reply
  14. Julie says

    March 26, 2013 at 7:24 pm

    Haven’t tried them yet

    Reply
  15. Bethany says

    March 26, 2013 at 8:01 pm

    I love barrier games and actually haven’t heard of this book/movie yet. Would love to try this out with my clients!
    Bethany recently posted..Buddies & Bear Hugs.My Profile

    Reply
  16. Carol says

    March 26, 2013 at 8:43 pm

    This looks like sucha versatile tool!

    Reply
  17. Trina says

    March 26, 2013 at 8:54 pm

    We love the Gruffalo book! My son recently received the book as a birthday gift and we love owning it! The rhyming card game looks awesome!

    Reply
  18. Michelle says

    March 26, 2013 at 9:18 pm

    My brother was just raving about gruffalo and I had no clue what it was! Now I want! Lol

    Reply
  19. marianne says

    March 27, 2013 at 4:03 am

    This story looks like a lot of fun. you have shared some great ideas I can use in the classroom and share with my SLP. Thanks!

    Reply
  20. susan says

    March 27, 2013 at 4:53 am

    The fun pocket looks like it would be great for therapy

    Reply
  21. Heidi says

    March 27, 2013 at 5:24 am

    I love the book and have ever since being introduced to it on a trip to England over 3 years ago.The travel play kit looks like fun as well:-)

    Reply
  22. laura says

    March 27, 2013 at 5:55 am

    I love this giveaway, I hope I win!

    Reply
  23. Erin says

    March 27, 2013 at 6:08 am

    I love the card games! I think the rhyming go fish sounds awesome!

    Reply
  24. Ruthanne says

    March 27, 2013 at 6:35 am

    What a great idea. I so like the use of fun when trying to accomplish something! It would be great to win, but I am also going to be looking for these products!

    Reply
  25. Angel says

    March 27, 2013 at 7:22 am

    I’m always looking for new activities to do with my two year old son, and I think he would enjoy this!

    Reply
  26. Loretta says

    March 27, 2013 at 8:05 am

    Thanks for introducing me to The Gruffalo and all of Julia Donaldson’s books, they are wonderful!!

    Reply
  27. Tammy Harris says

    March 27, 2013 at 8:31 am

    I have not used any of the materials, but I would love to try them out!

    Reply
  28. Colby says

    March 27, 2013 at 9:22 am

    I really like the fun pocket travel play kit, and I would love to use it as a barrier game with my students!

    Reply
  29. rebecca houston says

    March 27, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    i would love to apply some social skills to this story for my older kids and the the rhyming game for my younger crowd

    Reply
  30. Jennifer says

    March 28, 2013 at 12:15 pm

    Te gruffalo is the only book my non- book loving son will read. He is in speech therapy and we really appreciate your activities for this book!

    Reply
  31. Whit says

    March 28, 2013 at 12:37 pm

    I love the Gruffalo fun pocket!

    Reply
  32. DAwn says

    March 28, 2013 at 1:04 pm

    This is a new book for me- it is always fun to find new materials to use with my students.

    Reply
  33. Kerry says

    March 29, 2013 at 7:52 am

    This is a family favorite!

    Reply
  34. Lorene says

    March 29, 2013 at 8:45 am

    Never seen the book before, thanks for the ideas!

    Reply
  35. Robin says

    March 29, 2013 at 7:51 pm

    This would be a wonderful addition to the Little Faces Childcare center! Would love to give it to my little friends. On another web page, I found a printable mask that we could use to pretend to be the Gruffalo. What fun!

    Reply
  36. Carrie walls says

    March 30, 2013 at 10:55 am

    We did a March is Reading Month assembly at school. Teachers and classrooms read their favorite books. This was one of them. It was the first time I had heard of The Gruffalo! Would love to win this!

    Reply
  37. Nicole says

    March 31, 2013 at 9:36 pm

    I have never used this book before but it looks great! I know my kids would enjoy this.

    Reply
  38. Audrey Griffis says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:06 am

    i love the book it’s come in handy in many preschool lessons

    Reply
  39. sheri anderson says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:07 am

    I’ve never seen the book but I’m sure my grandson would love it!!

    Reply
  40. Lynnette Watkins says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:08 am

    My 3 yr old and 5 yr old love the books. Both of them were first introduce to the Grufflo books in school. Now we read them at home.

    Reply
  41. Bernadette Swails says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:14 am

    My kids would love this!

    Reply
  42. Bernadette Swails says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:16 am

    My kids have rented the movie multiple times. They love it and the Gruffalo’s Child

    Reply
  43. June S. says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:17 am

    We have read o few of the book’s, and enjoyed them.

    Reply
  44. Christy B says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:26 am

    The pocket travel play kit! Perfect for a plane ride or a quick car ride to the beach!

    Reply
  45. Sarah says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:27 am

    Love the Gruffalo movie!

    Reply
  46. Jennifer M says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:31 am

    The only graffalo product we own is the DVD Gruffalo’s Child.

    Reply
  47. Cindy says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:33 am

    Love this! How fun to use in therapy sessions.

    Reply
  48. Nicole says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:35 am

    I’ve been wanting to get this DVD and book for my boys for awhile now. Thanks for the chance to win it!

    Reply
  49. Adriane says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:37 am

    I think my son would love the rhyming game! He’s really into rhyming right now. 🙂
    Adriane recently posted..Please make an appointmentMy Profile

    Reply
  50. Heather says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:56 am

    I love love this book (and many of her others too!) and had no idea there were other materials besides the book and DVD. The fun pocket looks like a super addition.

    Reply
  51. Jen says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:56 am

    I would love to try the rhyming game. It sounds fun and would be perfect for my son right now!
    Jen recently posted..March Stocking UpdateMy Profile

    Reply
  52. Angela Yeremenko says

    April 1, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    I’ve never read it, but I’m sure my daughter would love it.

    Reply
    • mrsshukra says

      April 1, 2013 at 11:37 pm

      The Fun Pocket Travel Play Kit is fun!

      Reply
  53. Jodie says

    April 1, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    We love the book!

    Reply
  54. Jemima McPherson says

    April 1, 2013 at 12:18 pm

    Would love these for my girls! thanks

    Reply
  55. Nadia says

    April 1, 2013 at 12:55 pm

    I love the book/movie combos!!! It helps my 2 year old with association and assimilation.

    Reply
  56. Dave says

    April 1, 2013 at 1:38 pm

    We heard this story at storytime, but do not own any Gruffalo products. the rhyming game looks fun

    Reply
    • Dave says

      April 1, 2013 at 1:44 pm

      sorry…entered as Davis in Rafflecopter…:)

      Reply
  57. Alicia H says

    April 1, 2013 at 1:53 pm

    I love the original Gruffalo book – my kids love it 😀

    Reply
  58. Anna Montmayeur says

    April 1, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    My favorite Gruffalo item has been the finger puppet printouts from the Gruffalo website. I laminated them and glued them to Popsicle sticks. My son plays with them a lot and acts out the scenes from the book. They have been a great free toy!

    Reply
  59. Rachel says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:23 pm

    I can’t get enough of colorforms-but the book is a classic!
    Rachel
    Let’s Talk Speech Therapy

    Reply
  60. Jenna says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    I love this! Especially the Barrier game set up!

    Jenna

    Reply
  61. Lauren says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:29 pm

    The Gruffalo book looks pretty darn cute! 🙂
    Lauren recently posted..App Review: Sunny Articulation & Phonology TestMy Profile

    Reply
  62. Joanne says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:30 pm

    I will need to check this book out. Thank you!

    Reply
  63. Laura says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    I have never heard of The Gruffalo, but I use books in my therapy sessions all of the time.

    Reply
  64. Major Speech Pathology Fun by a Minor Girl says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:33 pm

    I have never heard of this item before. It looks really fun!
    Major Speech Pathology Fun by a Minor Girl recently posted..Free Space Friday-Bookshelf CurtainsMy Profile

    Reply
  65. Bambie says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:33 pm

    I love the printouts of the Gruffalo characters. My 4 year old has a blast using them as stick puppets!

    Reply
  66. Julie Haldeman says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:35 pm

    This looks so fun!

    Reply
  67. Patti says

    April 1, 2013 at 5:48 pm

    This would be great to have for my students.

    Reply
  68. Tara says

    April 1, 2013 at 8:09 pm

    We LOVE Julia Donaldson and all of her books, We too, have discovered the Gruffalo and the sequel, the Gruffalo’s Child. My 3 year old wants to read that one first all that time!

    Reply
  69. Savvy in San Francisco says

    April 1, 2013 at 11:39 pm

    I like the book and the rhyming cards look like fun!

    Reply
  70. Sandra Goldstein says

    July 8, 2013 at 9:59 am

    I am so bummed that I missed out the contest, but thank you so much for the informative article. The Gruffalo games and movie sound like loads of fun! I work with preschool students (ages 3 and 4) and they would love the story and then to watch the DVD. I think the 4 year olds would benefit from playing the barrier games with our classroom assistant during centers. I could build on the lesson by introducing the rhyming cards since they go along with the story. It would be great to build a whole lesson around Gruffalo. I think our students would enjoy it as much as your daughter has!

    Reply

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