Children's Book Review: Fumbulgrumbul by Jason Sandberg

Summary:

Meet Mister Fumbulgrumbul. You'll see him when he fumbles, you'll hear him when he grumbles. When a poodle comes after his cookies, you know that hilarity will ensue. This richly illustrated rhyming picture book will be enjoyed over and over, by parent and child alike!

"This book is anchored by the rhyming comedic tale of a man attempting to keep some cookies away from a poodle. The supplementary challenge I set for myself was to work subplots into a Picture Book without making the narrative confusing for a Preschool audience. I did this by parading whimsical and fantastic supporting characters through the backgrounds of the pages. These charming sight gags should add a secondary level of enjoyment to the reading experience." - Jason Sandberg

 

Release Date: June 21, 2014

Age Group: Children's

Source: Review copy from author

Reviewed By: Kelli & Kaitlyn

 

Review:

I love Jason Sandberg's books.  They are whimsical, fun, and imaginative.  The illustrations are the best part of his books, for me.  I love how detailed they are, and they always make me smile.  There is an element of subtle tongue-in-cheek humor in Sandberg's work, and Fumbulgrumbul was the funniest of his books to date.  I love it when children's fiction has a little something for the adult reading it aloud, and Sandberg includes the adult reader with aplomb.

 

Fumbulgrumbul is about a cookie delivery man.  He is followed around by a poodle who wants to gobble up any boxes of cookies that he drops.  Fumbulgrumbul is completely befuddled by a puddle on the sidewalk, and tries to come up with a way around it.  What was so neat about this story was the text.  It rhymed in a near tongue-twisting way.  I loved that!  But my favorite aspect of this story were the illustrations.  There are unexpected things going on in the backgrounds of each page: a floating ship, a flying unicorn, and a man on a magic carpet.  Each item made the story feel magical and unique.  I liked that the extras changed with the story line, and added to it for me.

Kaitlyn enjoyed the story as much as I did.  She loved the imaginative pictures in the background of each page.  She laughed when Fumbulgrumbul kept trying to figure out how to go around the puddle.

Fumbulgrumbul was a fun read and I'd recommend it for kids age two and up!