The First Adventure

Tumtum and Nutmeg #1

by Emily Bearn

Great looking book with no nicks nor tears. Spine has no sign of creasing. Pages are clean and not marred by notes or folds of any kind.

Genres: Childrens, Chapter Books, Fiction, Animals, Middle Grade, Christmas, Fantasy

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Emily Bearn has written nine children's books and has been the children's literary critic for The Telegraph since 2016. She has been a journalist since the age of 20 and has worked on the staff of Harpers & Queen magazine, The Times and The Sunday Telegraph. She lives in London.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the way this book started out, and enjoyed the author's use of language, but for some reason I felt let down when it came to the battle against Aunt Ivy, or the Charge of the Bright Brigade as it was known in the story. Too much military jargon for my liking, and it was an unfamiliar theme for my 6 year old. I don't mind explaining words to her, but when I suddenly had to define the words General, rifle, gas attack, war zone, hand grenades, repel, ammunition, machine gun, strategy, siege, Colonel, tactics, reconnaissance, platoon, Brigadier, troops, maim, retreat, Lieutenant, barricades... Well, it just wasn't enjoyable anymore. I didn't mind the battle itself, just not the couple of chapters leading up to it. I might still seek out the further adventures of Tumtum and Nutmeg.

[Alia]

I think more adult media needs cutie little animals living cutie little lives in cutie little outfits

[R. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when real life was angry, full of hurt and changing quickly. It was the perfect thing for that, like the world was black and this book poured white paint into it and made it actually a not at all overwhelming shade of blue. Certainly for small people but a sweet and simple read for adults who don't think it's beneath them to read books that are certainly for small people. I'm going to read it again, this time to my six-year-old.

[R.E. Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this and some of the books in the series when I was eight, and it STILL STANDS OUT in my mind. I remember it quite fondly. I loved these books when I was younger, but later, I could never remember the name of the series until I came across the book in a library bookstore and instantly recognized it. I would highly recommend it to children.

[Tarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable and charming in every way! These two little mice, Tumtum and Nutmeg, change the entire lives of the human children, in whose house they reside in. Such a wonderful book that young kids (4-7) will especially enjoy.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this would be a sweet read-aloud. Not terribly complex, but a pleasant enough story of two mice and their plot to vanquish the evil, mouse-hating Aunt Ivy. Conveniently, Aunt Ivy is also a burden to her human family, so a victory for mice is a victory for all.

[LaurenLoveReads]

These are really really cute kids books! My girls love them! Can’t wait to continue on in the series

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids and I loved discovering this new series! We listened on audiobook! The plot was simple enough to follow but engaging enough to be interesting. Characters endearing. We recommend!

[Erin Fé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to my two 6 year olds (and one 11 year old who said she wasn’t interested at first but got very invested very quickly!) it was easy to read aloud, and kept the kids really interested. It was a kind of a cross between the borrowers and brambly hedge. I think the plot could’ve used some work but it was very well received by the listeners so a solid 4 stars.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard one for me to rate. My kids (my 5 year old son in particular) loved it but it was just okay for me. I loved the first half when TumTum and Nutmeg adopted the human kids. So sweet and fun! But the second half when Aunt Ivy comes, TumTum is out of commission, and Nutmeg summons a mouse general who summons a mouse army to literally battle Aunt Ivy was kind of weird for me. It went from sweet to very battled-oriented and not really about TumTum and Nutmeg at all. I don’t have anything against battles in certain settings but this one preyed on Aunt Ivy’s fear of mice in a bit of a torturous way. I don’t know. It just fell flat for me.

I also had to edit as I read aloud, removing references to characters smoking cigarettes and the text saying they were cursing (though only once using the word “damn”). Probably not a huge deal for some people but it was for me as my kids are young (3 and 5).

I might read another of these because it did keep my kids on the edge of their seats but only if I pre-read it first. So that probably won’t happen for awhile.

[Miri Gifford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well-written, good adventure story, likable characters, but I couldn't believe this was first published in 2008 and not 1908. The antiquated gender roles were ridiculously pervasive, almost as though the author (female; ugh) had gone through a Patriarchy Checklist in creating her characters. Fun and cute, but not worth reading the rest of the series, nor will I be recommending it to any children I know until they're old enough to know why the gender roles are stupid.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

We LOVED this book. It was so funny and the girls and I had a great time reading it. I wish Tumtum and Nutmeg lived in our house and took care of us! I highly recommend this book.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, creative, and charming.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for a cosy bedtime read along the lines of The Wind in the Willows, and the first part of it is. I loved the bit about the two mice building their great hall, and adopting the two human children who are pretty much left to their own devices by their well-meaning but oblivious inventor father. But then Aunt Ivy showed up and spoiled things. There was an increasing smell of Roald Dahl's unpleasant aunts from James and the Giant Peach about her, and the plot just went completely off at a tangent from there. I found the battle rather disappointing and the ending rushed. I had also hoped for better illustrations than we are offered. Also, and this is entirely personal, but--I found "Tum-tum" as a supposed endearment ("because he had such a large one") very off-putting. I don't think I can love an author who thinks that's cute, but then I was given "cute" fat-girl nicknames myself as a child and know how much they hurt.

I see it's the first in yet another series. I wonder if it gets better?

[Amy Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sweet children's story. I listened to the audio version, which is very well done, but I was a bit annoyed at how soft it was--I could only hear it with a speaker connected. My daughter recently picked up the actual books and started reading them, and loved them, and she read a section to me, in which I was impressed with some of the vocabulary. I was tempted to give it 5 stars, but I wasn't entirely happy with the aunt theme, and scaring her to death. She deserved it, but it gave it an almost creepy cartoony feel at times, like Roald Dahl; another Roald Dahl-type issue would be that adults in the story are either fools or villains. But this book overall and in general would NOT be compared to Dahl's stories, rather contrasted. It has an old-fashioned feel, perhaps like Nesbit? I think the aunt cursed at the end. I'm going to have to black that out in the book, if so. It seems British authors are more careless about that kind of thing. Overall, very nice, however, and I think I'll get the rest of the series for my younger kids if they continue liking it.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tumtum and Nutmeg was a lovely children's books. The first thing I liked about it was Bearn's use of language. Her writing is rich with diction that expands a child's vocabulary. The only complaint I have was the quick change from cozy magic with Lucy and Arthur to military antics with the introduction of General Marchmouse. The story still works but you might get whiplash between the first half and the second half. Still worth the read though.

[ireneekins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, read aloud book with the girls. My five year old especially enjoyed.

[Mary Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so fun to read aloud. A story of charming and loving mice, living in a house with humans who need their love and care.

[Jessica Kirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 🌟

Just such a fun little story! Perfect for littles who aren't used to long chapter books yet, as the action moves very quickly. All of my children (12-5) enjoyed this one!

[Chelsea Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, if a bit slow.

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not many contemporary kids’ books aim for a cute, wholesome, old-fashioned vibe; but this one does. I’m pretty sure my kids would laugh delightedly at several of the scenes.

I do have a quibble, however. I couldn’t help noticing that the female characters all come across as deeper and more intelligent than the male characters. The lady mouse gets to be named “Nutmeg,” whereas her husband is “Tumtum” because of his sizable tummy. It’s Tumtum rather than Nutmeg, of course, who scarfs the mouse poison. When the mice population bands together to wage war on the villainous human, it’s Nutmeg who comes up with the winning solution--and the ridiculously pompous male mouse general who claims the credit.

The pattern holds true even among the human characters. The girl is older and a bit more mature than her brother, and the father is silly enough to believe that he’s the one who fixed his machine when the work was really done by the mice.

Not a huge deal, perhaps; but it’s a pattern that seems systemic--it’s so much easier to find literary tales of strong female leadership these days than tales of male leadership. Surely we want our sons to have inspirational examples to follow, too? Just a quibble, perhaps, but one I couldn’t help noticing.

[Kathryn]

Might be a bit too cutesy, but couldn't pass up a book about mice named Tumtum and Nutmeg! ;-p

[Josie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

[Janae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute little chapter book. Read it to my 5 yr old and she actually paid attention. We'll be reading another.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tumtum and Nutmeg is a pretty good book. I like the pictures in the book. I would give this book 3.7 stars.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and adorable!

[Book Hugger's Reading Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tumtum and Nutmeg is such an enjoyable book for children!!!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read-aloud

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids and I loved this book! Perfect for a read aloud.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read aloud with my 9 year old daughter