The Gruffalo is a children's book by writer and playwright Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, that tells the story of a mouse's walk in the woods. The book has sold over 10.5 million copies, has won several prizes for children's literature, and has been developed into plays on both the West End and Broadway. The Gruffalo won the gold award (in the 0–5 years category) of the 1999 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. It was the UK's best-selling picture book of 2000, won the 2000 Nottingham/Experian Children's Book award, and the Blue Peter Best Book To Read Aloud award and is now also a very successful range of soft toys.