Bumblebee Grumblebee

by David Elliot

In this delightful board book built on wordplay, toddlers will recognize each activity―getting dressed, playing, painting (including themselves), having a bath―and see how the animal makes the mischievous most of it.

The bumblebee breaks its toy―bumblebee grumblebee!
The cockatoo is getting dressed―cockatoo sockatoo!
The pelican tries out the potty―pelican smellican!
What will turtle do? Everybody gathers for the final squirtle.

Each scene twists the animals' names into funny new words to share and delight in how they feel and sound.

Bumblebee Grumblebee is for toddlers and adults to have fun experimenting with the way words are put together.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Humor

18 pages, Board book

Published February 1, 2022

About the author

David Elliot is an award-winning illustrator and author who has achieved international success. After working as a zookeeper (Edinburgh Zoo), dishwasher (the Antarctic), interior designer and art teacher, in 1998 he became a full-time illustrator. David is a graduate of the Christchurch College of Education, and earned a Fine Arts Diploma from the University of Canterbury.

Reviews

[Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable book for the youngest of readers who are just beginning to experiment with language. The different combinations and fun illustrations will surely keep their attention.

This unbiased review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rhyming board book is much funnier than it has any right to be [e.g., the words “Pelican, Smelican” are paired with an illustration of said bird “on the can” (on the toilet)]. Who cares if the toddlers don’t get the jokes? Their grownups and older siblings certainly will ensure that David Elliot’s gem of a book gets read often.

Once again, I owe my friend Beverly for recommending this picture book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliot is a wonderfully illustrated book for toddlers. With few words and only 18 pages, it’s a glimpse at behavior and attitudes of lovable and or likable creatures.
I have a 8 month old granddaughter who loves her board books. We read and read them over and over again. This stage of her life is very visual and the board books can take a beating.
I thought it was short and fun, just what a grandma wants for her young granddaughter.
I loved it and thought it delightful.
Thanks Gecko Press via NetGalley.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, rhyming wordplay, and truly wonderful artwork, makes this one a terrific read-aloud for both parent and child. Plan on reading this one again, and again.




(As if anyone can resist a pelican on a potty!)

This book is an utter delight!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to enjoy this treasure.

[Lil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it with my little cousin. She liked it.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's never too soon to foster a love for words and rhymes in little ones, and this sturdy board book does a splendid job in doing just that with nine matching pairs of animal scenes. In the scenes an animal is either trying a new activity or engaging in some sort of task; for instance, a cockatoo attempts to get dressed and ends up with a sock in his head, thus making the animal label change from Cockatoo to Sockatoo. In two other scenes, a hamster eats more than his fill of a jar of jam, and the label for the animal shifts from Hamster to Jamster. Youngsters will giggle--so will adults!--at what happens when a hippopotamus embellishes itself with painted spots or a turtle gets hold of a water hose. The simple but softly-colored illustrations fit the word play perfectly and will guarantee repeated readings. The only one that doesn't work for me is the pairing of Elephant and Balletphant. I understand the point, but "ballet" is pronounced differently and confused me by its inclusion. Maybe it takes someone with a particular accent to make it work. Still, all the others worked quite well.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If a bumblebee breaks his toy, he becomes a "grumblebee". If a rhinoceros drops his ice-cream cone, he becomes a "crynoceros". If a hamster eats an entire jar of jam, he becomes a "jamster". Each of the animals have a twist on their name, until at the end of the book the turtle does something unexpected!

This board book is adorable! It's especially fun to read aloud and giggle over the silly names.

The artwork is so cute! The illustrations are soft and fuzzy, and each page has some hilarious detail to make you laugh.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful. Cute illustrations and very funny play on words. I read this board book to our lower primary classes as part of our week featuring the NZ Young Readers Book Awards finalists. I was surprised how much they enjoyed it, laughed a lot, and repeated the nonsense words after me.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gloriously fun and simple board book playing with words

[Sarah BT]

So cute! Love the wordplay.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know what a Fluffalo is and I don’t think I want to find out .

[Ronan Crutchfield]

The silly animals made me smile and laugh little laughs

[Sharon Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliot is a board book. Playful animals get up to everyday toddler mischief in this board book built on child-based wordplay, where each page twists animal names into funny new words that are fun to share. Babies and young children will recognize each activity—getting dressed, playing, painting (including themselves), having a bath, using the potty—and see how the animal makes the mischievous most of it. The bumblebee breaks its toy—bumblebee grumblebee! The cockatoo is getting dressed—cockatoo sockatoo! The pelican tries out the potty—pelican smellican! What will turtle do? Everybody gathers for the final squirtle. Built for adults, babies and toddlers to share and read aloud, this fresh and sweet board book encourages experimentation with words and sounds, just by changing a letter or two.

Bumblebee Grumblebee is a fun board book for sharing and enjoying with your young reader, or letting them have some time to look through an enjoy the fun pictures on their own. I liked the play on words and the fun pictures. The cartoonish pictures are muted but do a good job of capturing the action and mood of each phrase. I think the rhymes and fun plays on common tasks and scenes will make for enjoyable story time and some giggling. I think this stand for multiple reads and might become a favorite for some littles and their caregivers or older children that might want to read with them.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliot is a sweet board book with sparse words and playful language that little ones will love. It can serve as a catalyst for learning how to turn pages plus vocabulary building as each wonderful, detailed illustration is discussed.

The diverse animal characters engage in fun familiar behaviour to this age group and their names are morphed into silly new ones. The illustrations infiltrate a toddler's world displaying scenarios that they can relate to such as getting dressed, playing, painting, having a bath, and using the potty, just to cite a few.

Babies, toddlers ( and adults ) will delight in the hilarious absurdity as the book is read out loud and shared again and again. This fresh and delightful board book encourages experimentation with words and sounds, just by changing a letter or two. I adore the illustrations and I highly recommend you get a copy!

[Leanne Luetkemeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this delightful board book built on wordplay, toddlers will recognize each activity―getting dressed, playing, painting (including themselves), having a bath―and see how the animal makes the mischievous most of it.

The bumblebee breaks its toy―bumblebee grumblebee!
The cockatoo is getting dressed―cockatoo sockatoo!
The pelican tries out the potty―pelican smellican!
What will turtle do? Everybody gathers for the final squirtle.

Each scene twists the animals' names into funny new words to share and delight in how they feel and sound.

Clever word play. Simple pencil and watercolor illustrations. "Squirtle" in ending! Funny!

Bumblebee Grumblebee is for toddlers and adults to have fun experimenting with the way words are put together.

Show more
Genres
Picture Books
Animals
Childrens
Humor
18 pages, Board book

Published February 1, 2022

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is delightful. I thought it might be cheezy but it actually is so clever and fun, IMO. I'm not sure if the littlest tots will totally "get it" but the words sound fun and the illustrations are humorous so I think this one might be a winner with a variety of ages. Older siblings (and the reading-aloud grown-ups) will get a kick out of the wordplay. It's just one word per page with an animal doing one activity then another that somehow transforms his mood or appearance. The buffalo in the bath is a fluffalo when he's using the hair dryer afterwards. The bumblebee is a grumblebee when his toy breaks. The hippopotamus is a hippospotamus when he paints blue dots all over himself. And the ending just makes you giggle. Even my ten-year-old and my husband thought this book was fun.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bumblebee Grumblebee by David Elliot is full of fun wordplay for toddlers to recognize everyday activities. The illustrations are a charming compliment to the wordplay throughout. When bumblebee breaks its toy, it becomes bumblebee grumblebee. Getting dressed, cockatoo sockatoo! This book will help readers associate actions and tasks with various emotions.

Special thanks to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Darlene Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a board book that toddlers and older children will enjoy. Each spread is devoted to one animal and a familiar activity. The first spread names the animal and the second renames the animal based on something that happened. For example, a rhinoceros that drops its ice cream cone is a crynoceros. Toddlers will need help decoding the illustrations, but will understand the new names and older kids will really enjoy the wordplay as a springboard to their own clever name variations.

[Great Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has fun playing with language, creating silly rhymes from animals names. Reading this together with your little one is a great way to see how sounds fit together while also having fun.
Reviewer #11

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what to say about this except that I loved it and would have been fine with reading it over and over again to my littles. I could quote my favorite bits, but the book is so short that to do so would spoil it.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute little book about opposites that made me laugh. I think kids of all ages will really enjoy this.

[April Oharah Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute illustrations with fun, rhyming text make this a fun one to add to your collection. Great for exploring made up words.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Jamster is my favorite.

[Grumpy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous delightful illustrations and story

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun story told in a single word on a page, twisting animal names to make them describe the animal in a new way, and with a final, snappy ending.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly, fun board book that added "jamster" and "sockatoo" to my family's vocabulary. Love the ending!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three year olds love word play and animals!

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and surprising board book.

[Bea Elwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations. Perfect for reading with a child and talking about changing sounds in different parts of the word.

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun wordplay and sweet illustrations with a satisfying conclusion.