“A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark woods” and finds himself in North Yorkshire, playing a starring role in a beautifully crafted stage show for youngsters.

For those who haven’t encountered The Gruffalo, it’s a best-selling picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, relating how a masterly mouse manages to outfox a number of predators.

Its strengths lie in it being fast-paced (it takes about five minutes to read) and having rock-solid rhymes: two features which would be impossible to duplicate in a 55-minute stage adaptation.

Nick Brooke Ltd and Kenny Wax Ltd’s production adeptly overcomes these issues with a large helping of imagination that holds the attention of the hundreds of three to seven-year-olds.

The three-strong cast exude energy as they retell the tale, dance and perform an array of original and catchy songs, the ska-style number being particularly enjoyable.

Between tunes, the show is peppered with slapstick routines that receive roars of laughter, and the subtle pauses before the well-known verses are spoken enable children to join in the storytelling.

Although the costumes of the predators are undoubtedly amusing – a Biggles-style outfit with a few feathers for Owl, a camp Mexican dancer’s outfit for Snake and a tweed-clad country gentleman for Fox – the characters are not immediately recognisable to all the children.

Not so The Gruffalo. As he leaps on to the simple stage set, the appearance of his terrible claws and purple prickles all over his back are just what the audience has been waiting for.

Today’s performances – the last of a run of seven shows this week – are a sell-out, but should the mouse take another stroll in these parts any time soon, you are recommended to join him.

The Gruffalo, Harrogate Theatre, 11am and 2pm today, sold out.