The Gruffalo said: "A Gruffalo should not be in the deep dark wood." "Why not? Why not?" "It's for your own good: There's a big bad mouse there." I, the Gruffalo say, I have seen him once. Since then, a long time has passed. Translation of the lines: Florin Bican. Dear reader, do you remember the first book with the Gruffalo? The story continues and you will meet again the clever mouse, the fox, the owl, and the snake. And the Gruffalo no longer seems so scary... Now he is a dad, and he has a little, curious daughter just like you. Is it true that there is a Big Bad Mouse in the wood, or is it just a story invented by the Gruffalo's father for long winter nights? Julia Donaldson (born 1948) is a writer, composer, and performer from the United Kingdom, known and appreciated for songs, plays, and television scripts for children, as well as for the numerous books she has written over the last twenty years. The Gruffalo was first published in 1999, in collaboration with Axel Scheffler, an equally well-known illustrator, and immediately became a bestseller. It received the Nestle Smarties Book Award that same year, and in 2000 it was named the best-selling children's book in the United Kingdom. Translations followed one after another, with the Gruffalo now published in 31 languages across all continents. A television adaptation, in the form of a 30-minute animated film, was made in 2009. Florin Bican (born 1956) is a poet and translator. From 2006 to 2012, he successfully coordinated the translation program of ICR (Romanian Cultural Institute) under the leadership of Horia-Roman Patapievici.