Grumpy Gloria

by Anna Dewdney

Gloria was glum and grumpy

Out of sorts.

Sad and lumpy.

A brand-new doll?

It's time to pout!

Gloria felt so left out.

Poor Gloria the bulldog thinks she has lost her best friend when the little girl who owns her receives a doll as a birthday present. Suddenly the girl Gloria does everything with now does everything with her new doll! But Gloria can't exactly tell anyone why she's upset, so the girl's brother and sister figure that Gloria just needs some cheering up. Maybe a bath? Or a game of dress-up? Or a bike ride? Things go from silly to hysterical, but in the end Gloria is happily reunited with her best friend.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Storytime, Animals, Emotion, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 2006

About the author

Anna Dewdney was an award-winning children's-book author, illustrator, teacher, mother, and enthusiastic proponent of literacy and reading aloud to children. She was the author of the bestselling Llama Llama Red Pajama series of picturebooks, among many others. She lived with her partner Reed Duncan in Vermont where she worked, gardened, and spent time with her daughters and dogs.

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based solely on the cover, I thought this was a book about a bear! But, no. Gloria is a bulldog who gets her nose out of joint when her best friend, the youngest child of a group of three siblings, gets a new doll for her birthday.

The older two kids try to engage Gloria and pull her out of her slump. But everything they try (from baths to toys to walks) just makes Gloria grumpier because all she wants to do is play with the little girl. (The little girl is shown playing with her new doll on almost every page, and pretty much ignoring the dog.) It isn't until one of the older children's schemes backfires that Gloria gets exactly what she's been wanting all along.

The text is rhyming and full of rhythm, much like in the author's Llama Llama books. I think this is one of her earliest works, though, since the author bio at the back only made mention of Llama Llama Red Pajama. The books about the llama and his friends are stronger, but Grumpy Gloria isn't terrible. It's kind of amusing, and shows the strong bond between the dog and the little girl.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another rhyming story written and illustrated by the beloved Anna Dewdney. Not as appealing as the Llama Llama books, but still good for the youngest listeners who are learning about feelings. An adult may need to re-explain the reason Gloria is grumpy, and why she is not grumpy in the end.

[Marion Cleborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet book about a grumpy dog who is not pleased with her girl’s new doll. Some kids try to cheer her up, but it never goes quite right! With a cute rhyme and funny art, kids will enjoy hearing this one read out loud!

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rhymes were fun. The pictures were enjoyable and my favorite part of the book--very telling of the emotions, at least with Gloria. The story was OK, though it started to get a little old for me. While this could work for a storytime, I'm not quite attached enough to it (right now) to help convey it to the kids. I might be able to in a lap-read.

[Evianrei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grumpy Gloria is about a grumpy, jealous Bull Dog that wants the attention of her little girl, who is more enthused by her doll. (Gloria eventually gets her attention). The writing was okay and the illustrations were alright. My son wasn't too interested in this one, we may re-review it again at a later date. For now we'll be returning it to the library and not getting a home copy.

[Kiera Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book! Great book to introduce if discussing feelings in the classroom, but also great for rhyming words as well. I love the pictures and the use of academic language such as sullen and sulky.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This classically illustrated book tells the story of a delightful pup named Gloria. Gloria's best friend - the youngest child in her family of humans - gets a new doll and suddenly has a lot less time for Gloria! And no matter how hard the older two children try to cheer Gloria up, she's not having any of it! Everything they try just reminds Gloria of how much she misses her best friend. Of course it's all resolved in the end and Gloria learns that getting a new friend doesn't mean that you have to leave the old ones behind.

It may be a story about a dog and her human, but it's pretty easy to see the "lesson" in this one. With lovely watercolor illustrations, this is a perfect book for four to six year olds who may be dealing with the reality of having to share their friends with more than one person. It can be a hard lesson to learn but, with a little help from Gloria, it might be just a smidge easier.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book review of Grumpy Gloria by Anna Dewdney

Anna Dewdney made Grumpy Gloria in the friction genre in this book Gloria gets upset because the little girl got a new doll for her birthday; She is upset throughout the whole book even after all the ways the kids tried to cheer her up. She was upset because even when the two other kids were trying to cheer her up the youngest kid was still playing with her doll. The only way to get Gloria to be happy is for her to feel included with the little girl and the doll.

I recommend this book for people who are learning how to read. Its an easy book for kids who need help reading because it isn’t hard, and it doesn’t have many words. This book is good for kids through Kindergarten to First grade. It can teach kids that if you feel left out doesn’t mean you’ve been forgotten.

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids adored this as a read aloud and both the 4 and 7 year old asked for it to be read again the next night by name. My 4 year old is not always up for sitting and listening, but he loves Llama Llama books so I expected this one might be a hit, and if you're familiar with them this one is *very* similar in the flow of the words.

[Deborah Horton Core · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures are adorable and Gloria's little emotional meltdown is wonderul. The kiddos loved the rhyming and Gloria's horrible attitude. It's a great read for both attitude and for rhyming phrases. Plus the adorable artwork is just too cute!

[Tracy Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gloria, the grumpy dog, is fickle about just about everything when his owner has a friend come to visit.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about a dog having a rough day because she thought that she lost her best friend...to a doll. (I believe I would be in a bad mood as well since I hate dolls.)

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nonfiction picture book where earth tells the story of it's creation. Very interesting and moves fast. Elementary and up

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gloria the dog is jealous of one of the kids playing with her new doll. My wife loved the dog's facial expressions.

[Gloria]

It is really funny ! ! !

[Evan Leister · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Betsey's favorites and I can see why.

[Joy L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read for a kid who likes lumpy and grumpy dogs.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing story packed with strong descriptive words that demand to be read aloud.

[Children's Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect picture book for very young children.

[Jennavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quote this book on a weekly basis. My kids might not empathize much with Grumpy Gloria, but since I basically am her I sure do.

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

illustrations are cute, story is cute, the rhyming is fine. it's a nice book.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting but still hopefully will teach some skills to the kiddo.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable.

[Janna]

The front cover of this book tells us that it will be about a grumpy dog. It also sets the mood by using hairy looking, big letters and a red background to emphasize that this book is about a dog that’s not so happy. Throughout the book the expressions on the characters’ faces help to show the mood. Something that I found interesting was reading the back flap that gives a little information about the author and also reveals her inspiration for writing this book. There is good use of an illustration on the dedication page to give background information about how the story begins. The two pages before the dedication page also send the message that Gloria isn’t always a grumpy dog because she looks happy in all the pictures on these two pages at the beginning and end of the book.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about trying to cheer a pet up. The narrative is bouncy and rhyming, so it flows nicely. And the illustrations are very funny. We really enjoyed Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama books, so when we found this book at our local library, we just knew we'd have to check it out. It's a fun and silly read, although I did caution our girls not to do to our pets many of the things these children did to their pet.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lesser known book from the author of the popular "Llama, Llama" series. We received our family copy from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library several years ago, and it quickly became a family favorite.

I personally enjoy reading books that rhyme to young children. I just think they're more fun to read. This story made both my boys laugh and laugh when they were little. I added some of my own animation to go along with the story, which helped (doesn't everyone do that when they read to kids?).

[Hannah Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun picture book that is good for students in pre-school, kindergarten, and 1st grade. It follows a bulldog named Gloria and the family she lives with. Gloria is very grumpy and her family tried doing all sorts of things to cheer her up, but none of them seem to work. In the end, we see that all she wanted was to spend time with her family, and she becomes happy again. This book has a theme of animals and pet love.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the author/illustrator of the popular "Llama Llama" books comes the story of Gloria the Bulldog. Gloria is grumpy because her girl had a birthday party and got a new doll. Toys, bathing, dress-up... Nothing improves Gloria's mood. Then the kids decide to take her for a ride in the basket of a bicycle. Suddenly there's a crash! Gloria finds herself in the baby bassinet with the new doll. And a smile!

Rather simplistic and not nearly as good as the Llama books, but still enjoyable.

[DelGal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am I the only one here who noticed that the actual story doesn't say why Gloria is grumpy? The inside cover of the book points out that the girl in the story has a new doll, but what if you accidentally skipped that part?
The story is cute, (and reminds me of countless jealous dogs) but could have been much better.

Read the author's "Llama" books instead.

[Jadai Mcgee]

Grumpy Gloria is full if fun with its unique adjectives to describe all the feeling of Gloria when her owner gets brand new doll. This story would be a great example to get your students to add more detail and be specific when describing emotions. This book can also be used to map out the plot of a story.