The Gruffalo, Stickman help show social distancing to children

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler create special sketches to help children understand the new COVID-19 restrictions.

The Gruffalo’s author and illustrator, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler have created a series of new sketches showing their popular characters practicing social distancing.

The creations are aimed at helping young children to understand the new regulations which have been brought in to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The Gruffalo, Stickman and The Smeds and The Smoos are all shown keeping a safe distance from each other.

For example, a sketch shows the Gruffalo walking behind the mouse, with the words: “Alright said The Gruffalo bursting with laughter/You go ahead, I’ll follow two metres after.”

Stickman is shown keeping fit in his tree with his family, while Granny and Grandpa are shown receiving a call from their grandchildren – aimed at stressing the importance of exercise and keeping in touch with family members.

Julia explained to BBC Breakfast last week: “Axel had this idea of doing some witty sketches, each based on one of our books and each kind of incorporating a tip about coronavirus.”

Axel added that he wanted to do something lighthearted and cheer people up.

Want to read more news like this? Simply sign up to our daily digest by clicking here. You can also follow @LicensingSource on Twitter and @licensing_source on Instagram.

MORE NEWS
Horrible Histories
 
Rocket Licensing, the licensing agent in the UK and Eire for the popular award-winning children’s history brand Horrible Histories (published by Scholastic), has announced a new Horrible Histories experiential partnership with Leeds Castle in Kent....
Bellas_SaraMiller
 
Sara Miller of Sara Miller London explains why the brand supports the Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards....
Bluey
 
Maurizio Distefano Licensing, Italian agent for the BBC Studios’ property Bluey, has announced a busy start to 2025 for the popular animated hit as the Bluey licensing programme continues to grow and production gets under way on the first-ever Bluey feature film for cinemas....
Hello Kitty
 
Sanrio has announced the launch of dedicated Hello Kitty and Friends YouTube channels in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Fans can now enjoy their favourite episodes and special content in their preferred language, making Sanrio’s popular characters more accessible to audiences across India and beyond....
Taiwan
 
This year, Taiwan is making its first-ever appearance at the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids (BLTF/K), presenting a selection of established and emerging IPs to the European market....
BolognaLicAwards_2025
 
The winners of the Bologna Licensing Awards have been crowned during the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids....
Get the latest news sent to your inbox
Subscribe to our daily newsletter

The list doesn't exist! Make sure you have imported the list on the 'Manage List Forms' page.