A Squash and a Squeeze
As seen:
By Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
avg rating
96 reviews
A brilliantly funny rhyming story full of favourite farm animals, A Squash and a Squeeze is the first ever picture book written and illustrated by the unparalleled picture book partnership of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, creators of The Gruffalo.
A little old lady is fed up with how small her house feels. Whatever can she do? The wise old man knows: bring in a noisy crowd of farmyard animals. When she pushes them all out again, she’ll be amazed at how big her house feels!
This classic story is a must-have addition to the bookshelves of all Donaldson and Scheffler fans – big and small!
‘My readers collapsed in heaps, and then had to have it read again. And again’ – Vivian French, Guardian
Look out for Gruffalo Granny, the brand new Gruffalo picture book adventure – coming on 10th September 2026!
Discover more picture books from Julia and Axel: The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child and Room on the Broom.
TweetReviews
Funny
It was very funny, I liked the bit where the pig sits in the larder. The storyline is very funny and her house felt huge at the end. I would recommend
I liked the old lady.
Everybody should read it.
Lovely rhyming
I didn’t enjoy the story.
I like this book because it makes you think about just being happy with what you have and I like the cow dancing on the table- it made me laugh.
She has her animals in her house, she's silly
Funny when the goat ate the table cloth and the leg
A good fun book of how much you have if you take notice
One of our favourites
I thought it was funny
My favourite part was when the cow danced on the table.
It’s funny because she has to put all the animals inside the house and it’s all messy.
I enjoyed the goat in this book, it came after the hen
i thout this book was maveles
This book was really funny and a life lesson that: when you say you don't have any room in your house, you are kinda wrong because you have more than enough space than you think so enjoy and have fun!
I liked when the old lady shoved all the animals out of the house.
I like when the old woman shoved everyone out at the end.
Brilliant but simple to follow story line. My youngest loves this book and we read it often. Love the rhyming of the book. Highly recommend this book
This book was really interesting, my favourite character was the goat because he was chewing the curtains and nibbling the table chair and that was funny. I would recommend it to people/ children who feel like their house is small. Thanks!
i liked it when all the animals came in because the lady was suck with all the animals
I recommend this book because it is a fun to push, pull and slide the scenes to find out what happens when a little old lady fills her tiny house with farmyard animals.
This book was very enjoyed, I loved guessing the next animals
Love this book
Amazing book
The story was really funny and the rhymes make it easy to read.
I liked the old lady because she let the animals stay in and made chaos. It had a good moral of the story and taught me to be greatful for my house and all the space I have without all the animals. I would reccomend it to my freinds.
There is some funny bits in this book and it’s rhymes
I like this book because the cow was dancing on the table.
I like books books by Julia Donaldson as I have read oth34s by them. I liked all the rhymes in this one
I liked how the other animals were silly in the house. I thought it was funny how the hen, the pig and the goat were eating lots of food and the old lady was mad at them!
