Bumm: Lesen kann gefährlich sein

by Leo Timmers

Dass Lesen ganz schön gefährlich ist, zeigt das neue Bilderbuch des bekannten niederländischen Illustrators Leo Timmers: spannende Lektüre in einem schnellen Auto und plötzlich steht eine Mülltonne im Weg. Mit einem lauten BUMM! beginnt eine lustig-verrückte Kettenreaktion, die alle kleinen (und großen) Bücher- und Autofans begeistern wird.

Genres: Picture Books, Cars, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Transport, Storytime

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 2011

About the author

Leo Timmers was born in 1970, in Belgium. Trained in Graphic Design he began to illustrate Children’s books. Gradually he started writing stories himself. In 2000 he received a Bookfeather Award for his illustrations in 'Happy with me'. He won the annual Children’s and Youth jury Award in both 2005 with ‘Just in time’ (written by Bart Demyttenaere) and 2006 with ‘Supermouse’.In 2007 he won with his picture book ‘Who is driving?' His books have been published in France, Spain, Norway, Finland, USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Korea, UK, Israel, Portugal, Germany and Japan. Leo also illustrates for magazines such as HUMO and various advertising agenciesOver the years his style has evolved, but it has always been marked by humour, form, colour, and incisive ideas. Leo lives in Brussels with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

To see this week's Wordless Picture Books, please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com by clicking HERE

I came across this book and thought the illustrations on the cover were so cute. We were looking for another wordless picture book and with this one only having one word in it, we grabbed it. We ended up not really enjoying it that much. The illustrations were neat and interesting, but the story itself fell short and didn’t hold our interest.

It’s basically a series of animals driving in vehicles and they crash one by one into one another. What happens in the story is cute, but it wasn’t captivating and didn’t get us talking about the story like we normally do when looking at wordless books together. This is a pre-school book and I do think it’s good for very young children as it can help with counting, sequence, and colors. The artwork is super colorful.

3***

[Joachim Stoop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this. But you have to read it out loud and shout, act and simulate the crashes. My two year old adores it!

[Veerle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heerlijk grappig boek voor jonge kinderen dat zelfs prettig is voor een volwassene. Het heeft geen tekst, maar er gebeurt van alles, tot een flirtend kattenkoppel toe, konijntjes die flink hun groentjes opeten...

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

No narrative, but some text, this booked prompts conversations about cause and effect.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Bang’ is one of my favourite wordless picture books! Throughout the whole book, we follow the continuous collision of cars on each page. As the reader turns the page, the vehicles that are colliding with each other get longer and longer. It feels like you are traveling along the line as you go through the book.
Visually, the illustrations are eye-catching, detailed and humorous! The different characters in each vehicle are funny animals with over-the-top facial expressions. There is a truck of chickens driven by an angry pig, a studious deer, a racing giraffe and many more. After each of these cars enter, there is a big BANG. After this, the vehicles are impacted in new ways. The baby rabbits collide onto the goat's vegetable stall in front of them. The alligator's tires collide onto the giraffe's neck. Luckily the vehicle at the end of the book has a nice surprise for everyone.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een grappig boek over een kettingbotsing, ja, dat klinkt niet grappig, maar dit keer is dat het dus wel! Overal chaos! Vliegende groentes, autobanden, vissen, en meer. Van alles komt voorbij en als je denkt, oh, dat komt dus goed… denk maar even nog een keer na. Een giraf krijgt een nieuwe accessoire, de kippen houden wel van het boek dat door degene die helemaal vooraan zit aan het lezen was, een stel konijnenkinderen houden wel van wat groentes... en er is meer.
Ik heb gelachen om hoe chaotisch het was. Van sommige dieren kon je zien dat ze waren afgeleidt, maar sommige waren dat ook niet. XD
Leuke art en een zoet einde!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pleasantly weirder than picture books I normally read, although I wasn't a big fan of it being centered around car crashes (as cartoonish as they were). This was my first book by the author, so to me the eyeballs were especially unusual. It took us a couple of pages to get the hang of the story, but I quite liked a lot of little details, and especially the twist of the one car that didn't crash, and the big fold out at the end was fun too.

[Michelle Farella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly wordless

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very creative visual storytelling that draws kids in. The only word in the book is the same one as the title, repeated for effect.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love his art

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun almost wordless story

[Jared White · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cautionary tale about distracted driving...at least they all seem to be quite happy about going BANG?

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using only the word “bang” throughout, this nearly-wordless picture book is a humor-filled delight. In a series of car crashes, one after another, the story is told. It all starts with a deer who isn’t paying any attention, since he’s reading this book while driving. Then comes the truck full of chickens driven by a pig. Then a fashionable giraffe in an orange sportster. A hungry alligator with a truck full of tires follows. And more and more. After each car enters the page, there is an enormous bang, and then each new car impacts all of the others in new ways. Colors change, items move from one vehicle to another, and merry chaos reigns.

Timmers fills his wordless book with wonderful details that make lingering on the pages a must. You even start guessing from the introduction of the new elements about what will happen to the other vehicles in line. The final fold-out page with all of the vehicles in a row is great fun to look at and makes for a grand finale.

Timmers’ art is quirky and bright. The vehicles are all completely unique, formatted to fit the bulk of a pig, or the height of a giraffe. The pages are filled with bright colors and lots of action. As each new vehicle comes onto the page, there is wonderful moment before you know what happens. This pacing is perfection and all thanks to the art.

Jolly and very funny, this is a picture book that children who enjoy vehicles or large crashes will adore. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[Cemeread · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit to being a Leo Timmers fan. When a book has only the word Bang it must have excellent artwork. Timmers’ illustrations are bright and quirky. The pages are filled with bright colors and lots of action. The vehicles are all completely unique. As each new vehicle runs into the previous one with a loud Bang there is wonderful moment before you know what happens. Objects in the car move. Each car and it's occupants also have a color theme until the chameleon in the paint truck crashes. The result is shown in a wonderful fold out page as the last car, a penguin in an ice cream truck, bumps chameleon. This pacing is perfection and all thanks to the art (and ice cream of course!) In addition this story can be used as a cautionary tale of things one shouldn't do while driving.

preschool - colors, vehicles

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts with a BANG, the bang of a deer with his nose in a book running his car into a trash can. He's carrying a tall load of books, the book titled "Bang," in fact. Much to his relief, the books all safely land, stack intact, in the empty garbage can. But the pig driving behind him is carrying a large load of chickens and BANG! Each character runs into the person in front, and the mix-up of chickens, clothing, tires, veggies and more ends up in a most hilarious and happy series of events. This wordless picture book is bound to be enjoyed by children and adults, with lots of brightly colored details to peruse.

[Romelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author/illustrator, Leo Timmers, with his beautiful illustrations makes this (practically) wordless picture book a delightful and funny experience. With only one word, "Bang"...err...make that two- "Eeeeee," the story is all in the pictures, which is enough to keep the little ones entertained.

A reindeer in his car runs into a garbage pail of books and a pig delivering a truckload of chickens runs into him. Then a Giraffe, followed by a crocodile delivering a load of tires crashes...and you get the picture. Chaos ensues. I love the quirky details of the illustrations. Each read will reveal a different perspective. You can't help but read it more than once.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The colors! The two-page spreads featuring the book's single word, Bang! The humor! This delightful book features vivid color, cartoonish animal characters, and a simple plot - described on the cover as "A big, happy accident." As other reviewers have noted, you could spend quite some time exploring the richly detailed illustrations here with the child in your life, flipping back and forth to track the cumulative effects of the multi-car pileup. (And I am I the only one who thinks it will immediately need to be reenacted with one's toy cars, trucks, and animals?)

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nearly wordless book in which one car accident leads to a pileup of automobiles each carrying different cargo and passengers. Alls well that ends well and readers are provided many details to look at as they fill in their own blanks concerning all the action. A fun read that inspires storytelling for grades PreK-2.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much to look at. Love the road hazard triangle at the very very end. Nice accompaniment to Who Is Driving?

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is adorable! Even though only one word is used in this story, a fanciful and delightful tale unfolds through the pictures. It is a great tool for building narrative skills and print awareness! "What is happening in this picture" is a constant question as that is all the reader really has to determine the progression of the story. Great for young and new readers!

[Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grim lesson about paying attention while driving, and maintaining adequate stopping distance between cars. If you don't, you might end up wearing a stack of tires painted different colors.

Nice subtle dig about artificial food, as the completely green food from the goat's truck ends up painted different colors in the cat's hat by the end.

[Sourimak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Des couleurs flamboyantes pour un album sans texte qui invite à imaginer la suite de l'histoire, page après page. En effet, deux véhicules se percutent "BOUM !" puis un suivant, et ainsi de suite. Mais chaque collision apporte son lot de surprise jusqu'au bouquet final. Un carambolage arc-en-ciel digne de son auteur.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, fun, fun! You could spend a REALLY long time looking at the pictures with kids. How do you think they feel about that? What is happening? Now what happened? Gold mine for talking and narrative skills.

Also works for a colors book. And for turning a rotten situation in to a good one.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A multi-car pile up turns out to be a whole lot of colorful fun featuring googly-eyed critters of many silly mix ups.

[pati · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just silly.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about the funny results of an auto pile-up.

Veg*n parents note: Whole (and possibly alive) fish are eaten; a truck is hauling live chickens--albeit in a cartoony context.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful wordless story to share that includes humor, colors, cause and effect, and a fold-out finale. LOVE

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea and the bright colors, and it's really good for discussing and interacting with books. The illustrations just kind of creeped me out a little bit. It's just a personal preference.

[D'Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caution: this book will teach your child that a multiple car pile up is a lot of fun and everybody gets ice cream at the end. But the illustrations are pretty awesome.

[Great Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bang is an almost wordless "smash-up" of colors and animals. The story is simple and the illustrations are vibrant and detailed. Great practice for color recognition and a lot of fun! Reviewer 12