Tumble Bumble

by Felicia Bond

Written and illustrated by Felicia Bond, the illustrator of the bestselling If You Give... series, Tumble Bumble is a fun-filled tale of a tiny bug who goes for a walk and meets all kinds of creatures!

When a tiny bug decides to go for a walk, anything can happen! He might meet a cat, a crocodile, a pig, or even a bee to dance and play with, and that means more friends for everyone.

This board book with sturdy pages is perfect for preschoolers.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Friendship, Kids, Storytime

34 pages, Board book

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Felicia Bond knew when she was five that she wanted to be an artist when she observed a buttery beam of light coming in her bedroom window. She has illustrated numerous children's books and written many of her own, including Tumble Bumble and Poinsettia and Her Family. She lived for many years in New York and currently lives in New Mexico with her family of cats and a horse named Twister.

Reviews

[Mo Pie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The baby loves this story, and I read it to her every night. The issue I have about Tumble Bumble is that of the gender disparity. There are eleven animals and one child. Of these, the bug, cat, pig, mouse, and child are all male. Only the crocodile is explicitly female. And the gender of the rest is not identified. To address this, when I read the story, I change "Behind him was the baby pig" to "Behind her was the baby pig." So in my version the cat and the crocodile are both females. Even so, this does not go far enough!

[Mavis’s Dad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Breaking an entering is just one of the traumatizing parts of this children’s book. I’d rather tumble bumble at a park than in a jail cell. We’ll never read this one again.

Moral: Not really sure this one has a moral, but it sure has an interesting sense of morality.

Length: When you’re in jail for the crimes committed by this group of young animals, you’ll be able to get in multiple reads a day.

Favorite Line: “They kissed his head, then rang the bell. When no one came, they said, ‘Oh well…’”

Overall Impression: Mavis’s mom and I looked at each other upon finishing this true piece of trash and asked, “What was that?!?” Mavis threw it on the ground. Smart one year old, who can already see a book that concludes with tucking oneself into a bed with total strangers is only something Epstein and his friends could support.

[Wade · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay book with a title that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. At one point, the animals “tumble bumble” up the stairs...ookay. But hey, at least we could enjoy the story and not think about gender disparity like another reviewer discussed with this book haha.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great, fun to read children’s book. The vocabulary and rhymes are great. My one year old wants to hear this one on repeat.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The students liked it.

[Kate Grahek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is meant for kindergarten students. It is very easy to read, with only a few words on each page. It was a great, quick read-aloud and the children thought it was hilarious. The illustrations were bright and friendly.

[Brian Lofton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not understand the fuss with this book, and find it to be inferior to many other baby books out there.

My first complaint would be that the story line tries to be whimsical but succeeds to be nonsensical... not in the good way. You start along following "a tiny bug" (which to me is redundant), who met a cat a stopped to talk... who bumps into a crocodile... and this continues on and on until all the creatures decide to-- for no reason-- walk into somebody's house. Then one gets tired (then suddenly they all are), so they decide to tuck themselves all together in this strangers bed at this random house. THE END

My second complaint is vocabulary is not amusing, and the flow is poor. For example: "They fell in step and strolled a while, and bumped into a crocodile. The crocodile grinned wide with the glee, then introduced her friend the bee." Using a long word like crocodile back-to-back and then "grinning wide with glee" (again, redundant) is just not catchy or fun. I think the author just sloppily threw our words to rhyme with the animals-- in the way a second grader could.

The sentence flow gets a little better toward the end, but I do not think this book is worth the wondrous praise it receives from the toddler book community. "Bear Snores On" is better, and "Where is the Green Sheep".

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the start of the book, a rythmic introduction to a handful of different animals....I had to explain what the phrase "appologizing to no avail" meant which definetly interupted the flow of the story.
I'm not sure why the animals decided to enter a house when no one answered the door...it reminded me a little of goldilocks at that point. They tip-toed in and made a big mess in the kitchen while digging up some munchies, and then they helped themselves to a bed upstairs. From out of nowhere at the end three new characters are introduced so that there are 10 total...it made no sense to me, and not in a silly way, in a confusing way.

[Dan Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my daughter's favorite books. The rhyming scheme is fun, the illustrations are great, and we have read it so many times we know it from memory. Yes, the plot is nonsense (how do you "tumble bumble up the stairs"?), but its unpredictability allows for a spirit of fun and exploring and making friends. We play games with it now where I will start a sentence and my daughter will finish it. It builds her involvement in the story and appreciation of rhymes. I recommend it highly.

[Professor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun silliness. Knew some killjoys would be on here complaining about the breaking and entering (it's a goldilocks reference) and probably someone complains they eat junk food. For now it's fun to read out loud to an infant.

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

By Felicia Bond - so the illustrations are familiar and cute. Fun little book for my 3 year old son who enjoyed it.

[Hannah Parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows a growing band of animal friends as they creep into an unlocked and empty house, eat some snacks, and fall asleep in a young boys bed. It uses rhymes and occasionally onomatopoeia to bring life and add some sense to an otherwise nonsensical and whimsical story. In the classroom, this could be used in a lesson on figurative language or counting. Students could keep track of how many animals there are on each page. This is also a great read aloud to repeat throughout the year as it is engaging and repetitive. A perfect book for beginning readers. There are also many good vocabulary words in this story, making it a perfect place to learn some words-of-the-week.

[Lori Gautier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic for little kids. My girls loved it. It was requested so many times that I still know it word for word from memory......and my girls are in high school now. The pictures are delightful, and the cadence is fun. To those who say the cadence is not good, I suggest that you aren't reading it right. To those who complain about the gender disparity, I never noticed because---who cares? Those who complain about the nonsense and breaking and entering and mess-making may have legitimate points :)

[Katherine Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tumble Bumble is a great book for little kids to read, and a good one to help get them interested in reading. It is an easy to read book, with a few rhyming words, with no real plot line to follow. Since there is no plot line younger kids can follow along and not get lost in the middle. The book is just a simply silly story about a whole bunch of bugs and animals who run into each other and become friends. The pictures are simply and do not take away from anything and match the book in silliness.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A female crocodile leads a troop of animal friends--a pig, an ant, a bee, a cat and a few more on a bumbling stumbling trip thru the city before heading to someone's house to nosh on goodies and crash. It's so much fun I wish it were longer and more detailed with richer plot development...but then how would it be fun?
Four stars
Let's rock with Croc and Crew!!!

[Tori Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was very cute to read specifically in a kindergarten class. It is about a bug who goes on a walk and runs into many other friends that are different animals and they end up all becoming friends and going into someones house. I thought it was a super cute book and good read!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a gang of animals led by a crocodile who bully some smaller animals into a B&E where they eat the home owner's food, attract a bear inside, and take a nap in their bed. Anyway my son likes it so 5/5.

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, Tumble Bumble reads like Bond, Felicia wrote it for exactly one kind of reader, and I happen to be that reader. If that's you, you'll devour it. If it's not, you'll wonder what the fuss is about. Straight up, it's niche, and it knows it. Read it if you're in the club, skip it if you're not.

[Sam Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about numerous animals who meet and become friends. Ends with everyone together! Book about friendship and being together.

[Jenni Sauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of animals marches around town picking up new members. But where are they headed? toddlers and up

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Since Bond illustrated "If you give a mouse a cookie", etc. its reminiscent of those books. Perfect for talking about animals or a counting story time as well.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flows well
Wonderful illustrations
Rhymes with some new vocabulary
Wonderful
Recommended addition

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a little bug that goes everywhere.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

What could possible happen when a bug goes for a walk? Things add up quickly as new friends are met and made in this whimsical tumble bumble of a tale.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought there wasn't much to this story, but it's cute enough.

[Milton Louie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten friends. B

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about a little bug taking a walk and making friends all along the way.

[Freddie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story featuring an array of animals on an adventure. It is a joy to read; there are a lot of fun words ("tippy-toeing" - how adorable!) and the twist at the end is lots of fun.

[Cherish Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4☆ Would recommend)
Such a cute book. The different animals are engaging. The rhyme is great for kids. Fun book that kids will enjoy.