The Gruffalo activities: Books and activities for children who love The Gruffalo

Keep young fans of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s bestselling story entertained with these The Gruffalo free activities.

Since it was first published in 1999, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s The Gruffalo has been read by children all over the world, adapted for TV and stage, and even brought to life in a woodland walk.

If you’re looking for activities for children who love The Gruffalo, scroll on for free downloadable activity sheets, from colouring sheets to dot-to-dots, featuring the story of the creature with the terrible tusks and the terrible claws. 

Discover more of Julia Donaldson’s other books here, or, if you’re looking for other ways to keep the kids entertained, discover our list of the very best children’s activity books, from stickers to colouring and crafts.

The Gruffalo printable activities for kids

Help The Gruffalo find the words in the word search.

Help the Gruffalo find everything he needs to throw a brilliant birthday party with this word search, designed for children who are learning to read more independently.

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Download The Gruffalo wordsearch activity sheet
Download The Gruffalo wordsearch activity sheet

Help the Gruffalo find his presents in the maze

Show the Gruffalo the way to find the presents for his party with this printable puzzle sheet designed for children aged 3 and up.

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Download The Gruffalo maze activity sheet
Download The Gruffalo maze activity sheet

Spot the difference with the Gruffalo and friends

Challenge children to spot the differences between the snap of the Gruffalo and his friends celebrating his birthday with this printable activity sheet. Once they’ve completed the puzzle, children can copy a scene from the book and make a spot-the-difference puzzle for an adult or sibling to solve too.

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Download The Gruffalo spot the difference activity sheet
Download The Gruffalo spot the difference activity sheet

Join the dots and colour in the Gruffalo

Children of all ages can complete the scene with this dot-to-dot activity sheet, and colour the Gruffalo in once they’ve finished it.

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Download The Gruffalo dot-to-dot activity sheet
Download The Gruffalo dot-to-dot activity sheet

Does your little one love The Gruffalo?

Discover our complete guide to The Gruffalo books, from activity books to loveable novelty reads

Read more

Match the characters from The Gruffalo

This printable Gruffalo pairs game can be mounted on cardboard (a cereal box would work well) or laminated so that you can play it again and again. Take it in turns to turn over a card to look for a match, or you could have a go at playing snap with slightly older children.

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Download The Gruffalo pairs game activity sheet
Download The Gruffalo pairs game activity sheet

Put on a show with these Gruffalo finger puppets

Recreate The Gruffalo or make up a whole new story with these finger puppets. With the cast of curious critters from the book to bring to life, kids will have hours of fun putting on shows featuring the Gruffalo, mouse, fox and more!

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Download The Gruffalo finger puppets activity sheet
Download The Gruffalo finger puppets activity sheet

Make a delicious Gruffalo Crumble

Get the whole family in the kitchen to help bake a delicious crumble that you can all enjoy together. The recipe for this bake is taken from Gruffalo Crumble and Other Recipes. This recipe book features 24 ideas for healthy snacks, sweet treats and simple cooking projects for children inspired by the original The Gruffalo book. 

Get the recipe for Gruffalo Crumble


Throw your own Gruffalo party

If your child has a birthday coming up, why not throw them a Gruffalo themed party? From masks to invitations and even a recipe for Gruffalo cake, here’s everything you need to throw a party any young Gruffalo fan will love!

Get everything you need to throw a Gruffalo party

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A guide to Julia Donaldson’s books

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The Gruffalo colouring pages

Children big and small can get creative with these free printable A4 The Gruffalo colouring pages featuring best-loved characters from The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child.

Colour in The Gruffalo and all of the other characters from the story with this woodland scene colouring sheet.

Colour in The Gruffalo and his child with this activity sheet.

 Colour in The Gruffalo’s Child with this downloadable activity sheet.