What do you think?
Rate this book
A Surprise for Dumpy
A tale of Dumpy the dormouse who meets a strange animal who later grows up and becomes her trusty friend.
- GenresChildrens
24 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
18 people want to read
About the author
Molly Brett
45 books11 followersMolly (Mary Elizabeth) Brett was an English illustrator and children's author. She grew up in Surrey, Great Britain, [Croydon Registration District] surrounded by animals and nature.
Her mother, Mary Gould Brett, was a respected animal painter who encouraged her daughter to paint from life, and this is reflected in Molly's gift for making her animals look thoroughly naturalistic while giving them human characteristics and activities.
Molly began her art training with a correspondence course in illustration, followed by formal instruction at Press Art School and the Guildford Art School. It was at Guildford that she met Margaret Tarrant (also destined to attain substantial fame as an illustrator), who soon became a close friend and lived with her in Cornwall.
She began her career by illustrating weekly papers for children. One of her earliest commissions was to illustrate stories by Enid Blyton.
Inspired by this, she went on to write and illustrate 21 books of her own for the Medici Society of London, with whom she was associated for 60 years. Medici has published over 500 of her paintings as postcards, greeting cards and prints.
Molly Brett's work has enchanted generations of children with its beautifully drawn details, subtle colours and magical atmosphere. Her work follows in the tradition of other twentieth-century "dressed animal" illustrators such as Beatrix Potter, Margaret Tempest, Racey Helps, and others.
Footnote: The actual date of Molly Brett's death is uncertain but she died in the second quarter of 1990 so April 1 has been included for completeness.
Her mother, Mary Gould Brett, was a respected animal painter who encouraged her daughter to paint from life, and this is reflected in Molly's gift for making her animals look thoroughly naturalistic while giving them human characteristics and activities.
Molly began her art training with a correspondence course in illustration, followed by formal instruction at Press Art School and the Guildford Art School. It was at Guildford that she met Margaret Tarrant (also destined to attain substantial fame as an illustrator), who soon became a close friend and lived with her in Cornwall.
She began her career by illustrating weekly papers for children. One of her earliest commissions was to illustrate stories by Enid Blyton.
Inspired by this, she went on to write and illustrate 21 books of her own for the Medici Society of London, with whom she was associated for 60 years. Medici has published over 500 of her paintings as postcards, greeting cards and prints.
Molly Brett's work has enchanted generations of children with its beautifully drawn details, subtle colours and magical atmosphere. Her work follows in the tradition of other twentieth-century "dressed animal" illustrators such as Beatrix Potter, Margaret Tempest, Racey Helps, and others.
Footnote: The actual date of Molly Brett's death is uncertain but she died in the second quarter of 1990 so April 1 has been included for completeness.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 12, 2019
Dumpy the dormouse was fast asleep, something she liked to do, when three leaves blew through her window and landed right on top of her. She blinked at them and then realised that autumn had arrived, turning the leaves red, yellow and brown. She also realised that it was time to gather in food for the winter as her store cupboard was completely bare because she had been too lazy to go out and gather food.
She tumbled out of bed and hurried to the woods where other animals were already gathering in their winter food; 'Better late than never,' they chided Dumpy. Dumpy pretended not to hear and set to work collecting nuts and berries. She soon tired of the work, sat down and began to nibble the nuts. It was so relaxing that she fell asleep and only woke up when a fir cone fell on her head and by then it was getting dark.
To get home she had to cross the main road and as she was doing so she spotted something in a marmalade fur coat in the middle of the road. As a car was speeding towards them, she urged the creature to hurry across. 'Miaow,' went the stranger and did not move so Dumpy had to pull her out of the way of the speeding car.
Dumpy did not know what the animal in the marmalade fur coat was and she could only 'Miaow' when Dumpy spoke to her. As Dumpy was too lazy to build a nest, she had found a huge rabbit burrow to live in and she had named it Rabbit Hole House, to which she returned. But it was untidy because Dumpy did not like tidying up or putting things away.
Once inside her house she heard 'Miaow' at the front door so she looked out and saw that the little creature in the marmalade fur coat had followed her home. Dumpy shooed her away and said, 'You can't come in my house.' But fur coat was determined so she peeped in at the open window - Dumpy pushed the fur coat out and shut the window with a bang.
But going into the kitchen she found her unwanted visitor creeping through the back door. Dumpy seized a brush intending to brush her out of the house but fur coat grabbed the other end and a tug of war began. Dumpy fell on her back and fur coat began sweeping the floor. This gave Dumpy an idea as she thought her visitor could stay and work for her. She also asked her friends what the animal was because such a creature had not been seen in the woods before.
Mr Frog, a young squirrel, a hedgehog, Old Mole and all the rabbits admitted they had never seen such an animal before. Grasshopper Green wondered if it could be a tiny fox club but Wise Owl told him that it wasn't and suggested that it could be what human beings call a 'Kitty' which they keep in their homes.
This decided Dumpy to keep Kitty and she tied her apron around her waist and set her to work. This went on for some time while Dumpy filled her store cupboard. Lazy old Dumpy got fatter and fatter before she settled down to hibernate for the winter. But before doing so she gave instructions to Kitty to wake her after her long sleep when the third primrose opened in the garden.
Dumpy Dormouse slept and slept and Kitty went out into the woods where she discovered a gypsy caravan with another little kitty sitting on the steps. Kitty was invited in and she was allowed to stay in the warm until the cold dark days were over. Then a horse was harnessed to the caravan and away it went along with Kitty's friends.
She returned to Rabbit Hole House and when the primroses began to open she did as Dumpy had instructed, cleaned the house and baked cakes for the springtime party. When the third primrose opened Jenny Wren sand loudly at Dumpy's window, 'Wake up sleepy head, Springtime is here.' Dumpy did so and found her house lovely and tidy and cakes set out for the party she had planned. But Kitty was nowhere to be seen.
Nevertheless Dumpy invited all her animal friends to her little party and as they began to tuck in, they suddenly heard a 'Pad! Pad! Pad! Pad!' in the corridor. 'It must be runaway Kitty,' said Dumpy crossly, 'How dare she stamp like that, I'll-'. And just then the door opened and a great big creature in a great big marmalade fur coat entered with Dumpy's little apron tied round her neck like a bib.
'Miaow! MIAOW! MIAAOOW!' went Kitty and this frightened Dumpy and friends and they all ran away and never returned to Rabbit Hole House. Dumpy had to build a little nest to live in and she was very tidy within it and kept her store cupboard well supplied. She also realised that a very little Kitty could very quickly grow into a great big cat!
Meanwhile Kitty stayed on at Rabbit Hole House until one fine day when she walked out with three little kitties of her own and took them far away until she found Meadowsweet Farm where she and her family were adopted and lived happily ever after.
'A Surprise for Dumpy' is a delightful story, beautifully written and illustrated by Molly Brett, who incredibly worked with The Medici Society for 60 years.
She tumbled out of bed and hurried to the woods where other animals were already gathering in their winter food; 'Better late than never,' they chided Dumpy. Dumpy pretended not to hear and set to work collecting nuts and berries. She soon tired of the work, sat down and began to nibble the nuts. It was so relaxing that she fell asleep and only woke up when a fir cone fell on her head and by then it was getting dark.
To get home she had to cross the main road and as she was doing so she spotted something in a marmalade fur coat in the middle of the road. As a car was speeding towards them, she urged the creature to hurry across. 'Miaow,' went the stranger and did not move so Dumpy had to pull her out of the way of the speeding car.
Dumpy did not know what the animal in the marmalade fur coat was and she could only 'Miaow' when Dumpy spoke to her. As Dumpy was too lazy to build a nest, she had found a huge rabbit burrow to live in and she had named it Rabbit Hole House, to which she returned. But it was untidy because Dumpy did not like tidying up or putting things away.
Once inside her house she heard 'Miaow' at the front door so she looked out and saw that the little creature in the marmalade fur coat had followed her home. Dumpy shooed her away and said, 'You can't come in my house.' But fur coat was determined so she peeped in at the open window - Dumpy pushed the fur coat out and shut the window with a bang.
But going into the kitchen she found her unwanted visitor creeping through the back door. Dumpy seized a brush intending to brush her out of the house but fur coat grabbed the other end and a tug of war began. Dumpy fell on her back and fur coat began sweeping the floor. This gave Dumpy an idea as she thought her visitor could stay and work for her. She also asked her friends what the animal was because such a creature had not been seen in the woods before.
Mr Frog, a young squirrel, a hedgehog, Old Mole and all the rabbits admitted they had never seen such an animal before. Grasshopper Green wondered if it could be a tiny fox club but Wise Owl told him that it wasn't and suggested that it could be what human beings call a 'Kitty' which they keep in their homes.
This decided Dumpy to keep Kitty and she tied her apron around her waist and set her to work. This went on for some time while Dumpy filled her store cupboard. Lazy old Dumpy got fatter and fatter before she settled down to hibernate for the winter. But before doing so she gave instructions to Kitty to wake her after her long sleep when the third primrose opened in the garden.
Dumpy Dormouse slept and slept and Kitty went out into the woods where she discovered a gypsy caravan with another little kitty sitting on the steps. Kitty was invited in and she was allowed to stay in the warm until the cold dark days were over. Then a horse was harnessed to the caravan and away it went along with Kitty's friends.
She returned to Rabbit Hole House and when the primroses began to open she did as Dumpy had instructed, cleaned the house and baked cakes for the springtime party. When the third primrose opened Jenny Wren sand loudly at Dumpy's window, 'Wake up sleepy head, Springtime is here.' Dumpy did so and found her house lovely and tidy and cakes set out for the party she had planned. But Kitty was nowhere to be seen.
Nevertheless Dumpy invited all her animal friends to her little party and as they began to tuck in, they suddenly heard a 'Pad! Pad! Pad! Pad!' in the corridor. 'It must be runaway Kitty,' said Dumpy crossly, 'How dare she stamp like that, I'll-'. And just then the door opened and a great big creature in a great big marmalade fur coat entered with Dumpy's little apron tied round her neck like a bib.
'Miaow! MIAOW! MIAAOOW!' went Kitty and this frightened Dumpy and friends and they all ran away and never returned to Rabbit Hole House. Dumpy had to build a little nest to live in and she was very tidy within it and kept her store cupboard well supplied. She also realised that a very little Kitty could very quickly grow into a great big cat!
Meanwhile Kitty stayed on at Rabbit Hole House until one fine day when she walked out with three little kitties of her own and took them far away until she found Meadowsweet Farm where she and her family were adopted and lived happily ever after.
'A Surprise for Dumpy' is a delightful story, beautifully written and illustrated by Molly Brett, who incredibly worked with The Medici Society for 60 years.
March 14, 2019
Beautiful book beautifully illustrated. Loved it
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews