EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 241
album: Il Gruffalò (Gazzetta dello Sport)
stickers: 180 (1-160 + 20 A not numbered)
starter pack: album + 2 packets 3,50€
box: 50 packets (5 stickers per packet) 0,70€ each
What a surprise Gruffalo! We often go around with albums to review, waiting to be able to do the review. In this case we were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of many mothers and fathers who read the books of this fictional character to their children.
Created by Julia Donaldson in 1999, this cute creature has been the protagonist of children’s illustration books, before becoming a cartoon as well. As you know, we believe in stickers and therefore we are very happy that it has also become an album!
It is also interesting that the editorial proposal comes from a giant like RCS and that the album is linked to Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere della Sera. Definitely an attempt to enter this world directly, made up of packets and stickers. In recent years, Gazzetta has made several albums, always as attachments to other products (comics by Tex, Zagor, Alan Ford, etc. or the DVDs of Holly & Benji, Lupin III), but this time it is an old-fashioned proposal .
The albums “attached to” were very affected by the quality, some more or less, especially the stickers were rather, if you allow us the term, cheap. Here it is clear that it is a test, but like all tests it must be done with a certain commitment and it seems to us that Gazzetta has hit the mark, although we have found some really avoidable errors.
The feeling of rehearsal is also in the setting of the album itself, a presentation of Gruffalo, of the leafy forest where he lives and his animal friends. The interpretation is therefore an introduction with the prospect, possibly, of making other albums that tell the adventures in detail.
If you are not new to our reviews, you know that we do not really like static stickers, here is an explosion of shapes, there are so many. Not only that, also transparent and hairy. Wanting album, it is not easy for children to attach, but today’s little ones are quite smart and with the help of their parents or uncles we are sure we can achieve excellent results.
At the center of the album is the poster for the stickers numbered A, the legendary “stick & stack”. Given the type of product and the target, a great way to make children interact with the characters and perhaps always create new stories. First big mistake: stickers A do not have any type of numbering, luckily we found them all by opening an entire box, so here is the image of the 20 special “stick & stack” stickers 😉
The album is a mix of fantasy, illustration and teaching. The captions tell about the oddities of our friend with the monster face, but also provide notions about the real animals his friends, the ones that really populate our planet. Useful and fun at the same time.
The stickers are well made, very light but full, specially made to be attached to the album. Given the giant RCS as a publisher, surely it can afford it, the cost of the sachet is an appropriate choice, in good contrast with products with similar targets currently on newsstands. The same number of stickers, 180, without the addition of useless and expensive cards, could entice parents to buy even more. Even the cardboard of the starter pack is not to be thrown away, it is possible to cut out the characters. Insignificant detail? We don’t think so.
Second (and third) mistake: in the album there is no reference on how and when to order the missing stickers, we hope it’s just a “sin of inexperience”, if it were through the classic service on the Gazzetta Store, not everyone knows how do. Furthermore, the big question is whether stickers A will be available and how to recognize them. Panini, at the time of Gorjuss made a similar mistake but then later saved himself by putting a pdf file on the site to find out which number the various stickers corresponded to. As other publishers do, however, it could be that the “attach and detach” simply are NOT orderable .. hopefully the others are at least!
In general, this “take the field” of Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere della Sera, an Italian publishing giant that could decide to make other products, who knows, maybe even sports products, is generally interesting .. in the meantime, one wonders if this product can do from forerunner to a new synergy between books and stickers (for the writer, I have always dreamed of the album of stickers of Richard Scarry’s characters, the oldest among you will know who I am referring to). Time will tell if it will be a success or not, we personally hope and cheer on it, the project must be supported but also the choice of quality, paper and economic proposal.
UPDATE: after some checks also made by other collectors, RCS’s crazy choice not to provide the missing stickers service, this necessarily causes not only the considerations on this collection to change suddenly but also puts a big question mark on any future collections. Bad, really bad and completely without logic, especially if you wanted to open a cycle.
Gruffalo Forever!
(EN)