Customer Reviews

Grumpy Bird

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I purchased this book on a whim after my toddler had a particularly bad run of the grumpies. Upon the first reading, Grumpy Bird became a family favorite. In the story, a little bird wakes up in a grumpy mood and tries to maintain his grumpy disposition as he walks (he's too grumpy to fly) around his neighborhood. His pals are oblivious to his grumpy outlook, and think a walk with their bird-friend is a great idea. Their companionship has the ultimate effect of making the bird forget he was supposed to be grumpy. My child and I not only enjoy the story, but the illustrations are unique, fun, and endearing. Grumpy Bird never sits on the bookshelf very long.

Grumpy Bird and me, we got off to a rough start. I first laid eye on the impossibly irritable fowl one day while traipsing about a local bookstore. There on an upper shelf sat, "Grumpy Bird". He was grumpy. He was a bird. With so many other books vying for my attention I slipped the book from the shelf and gave it a quick once over. Flip flip flip, back on the shelf it went, and I didn't think of it again for many months. Really, not until a colleague essentially grabbed me by the lapels and said to me, "You MUST love this book!!!", and proceeded to demonstrate the readability of the title did I have to concede that I had misjudged "Grumpy". Worse still, what I had in my hands was an exceedingly rare addition to my collection of must-have readalouds. What on earth was I thinking when I didn't pay Tankard's book the proper amount of respect? So now I am here to right a great wrong. If you, like myself, have merely glimpsed at a copy of this book and then continued on with your sweet little lives, stop whatever it is that you are doing and give "Grumpy Bird" the attention he so desperately deserves. You'll never look at an avian grumpfest the same way again.

It happens. One day you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or, in this particular case, nest. When Bird woke up one day he was, not to put too fine a point on it, grumpy. With grumpiness comes a kind of ennui so, without eating, playing, or flying, Bird goes for a walk. If he was hoping for solitude, though, this probably wasn't the best plan. As Bird meets up with various friends they all join him for his stroll. First Sheep. Then Rabbit. Then Raccoon. By the time Beaver and Fox join the fun the whole group has taken on the appearance of a rather low-key parade. Slowly Bird realizes that what he does (like lifting a leg or jumping) the others do too. Cheered by this and no longer grumpy, Bird encourages everyone to join him at his home for a snack. The final shot in the book is of a remarkably peppy Bird offering an enormous worm to his somewhat dumbstruck following.

This book is a two-parter charmer. Part one is the choice of wording and part two the illustrations. In terms of readaloud possibilities, Tankard knows how to use the rule of basic repetition and make it familiar but increasingly funny as the story continues. When Bird does his walking he is asked over and over what he's up to by the other animals. The first time is a terse, "Walking". The second is a pointed, "I'm walking . . . It's no fun." With each additional animal Bird gets more and more frustrated until he's finally saying, "WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'M DOING?! . . . I'm just walking, okay?" As any person who has ever read to a large group of kids knows, many books work well one-on-one, but only a few books work with large groups. Because Tankard's book sets up all kinds of possibilities in terms of voice and increasing volume, I can't wait until I get another group of kids in my library so that I can break out Bird's snarky bon mot, "Let me give you a hint . . . You do it by placing one foot in front of the other."

And of course there's the art. If Jeremy Tankard has taught us anything today it's that bags under eyes are comedic gold. There's not a man, woman, or child alive today that can't relate to the glower firmly affixed to Bird's face as he grumbles through his day. His white tennis shoes with the red sides are just the frosting on the cake in terms of personal appearance. Consider the finer details of Tankard's art too, while you're at it. The mix of computer graphics and good old-fashioned pen and inks is heady. The very first spread after the title page shows full stars of a variety of shapes and sizes hanging in a sky where an orange sun has recently popped up in the lower right-hand corner. Bird has a single eye open and there's a lovely play of soft dewy dawn light flickering across his sorely aggrieved mug. As the book continues, clearly cartoonish elements mix with smudges, photographs, and eye-popping primary colors. Characters come onto the scene in both the foreground and background, and the result is that even as the story continues at a smart consistent pace, the eye gets to hop to and fro, back and forth, around a landscape of new animals and images. And though every animal in this book is "cute" in a basic sense, it wouldn't surprise me one jot if I learned that Mr. Tankard was a whiz on the alternative comics scene. His bunny is adorable but tweak it a little and consider how terrifying it could be with a twist of the pen here and there.

As any librarian or bookseller will tell you, grumpiness sells. Funny grumpiness, anyway. "Grumpy Bird" has the potential to be a great companion to Mrs. Biddlebox by Linda Smith or even Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. It's a standout title that I'm hoping has a slow burn. A low-key buzz is already surrounding it. As more and more children are introduced to its charm, I hope we begin to see a real grassroots effort to place "Grumpy Bird" in the picture book canon where it so clearly deserves to rest. A do-not-miss title.

This book is sure to make almost any grumpy bird happy after reading it. The unique illustrations compliment the sarcastic bird's mood. As you read, it's easy to imagine Bird must have a change of heart, but the ending is still a fun surprise. This book is perfect for the (sometimes) little grumpy birds in my nest!

This book was written to help children see that they can change a grumpy mood. We follow Bird as he begins his day grumpy and tries to stay grumpy. Jeremy Tankard has written and illustrated a great book, with fun, bright and vibrant colors. It is a great story book for the younger members of your families, or as a cure for your own bad mood.

My 4 yo and I stumbled on this at the library and now we are buying for friends. We use it also when one of us is getting grumpy- we say, "let's get out of our grumpy bird mood" just like the bird in the book.

Works more often than not.
You should buy this book!

God, this book is funny. Just. so. funny. And, apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so; it garnered quite a bit of advanced praise and then managed to get some good reviews (from The Horn Book and School Library Journal to name just a couple). I have David Elzey's review at The Excelsior File to thank for first making me want to go out and find a copy. Here's what so funny: Grumpy Bird just wakes up pissed off. I love it. There are some of us for whom the phrase "woke up on the wrong side of the bed" simply has no meaning. There can be "a" wrong side? Both sides are always glaringly wrong and we wake up feeling as if the center of gravity were directly under our bed and need about, oh, at least one hour and several cups of coffee to facilitate actually speaking to anyone without grumbling and cursing and swearing. So, yup, Grumpy Bird wakes up grumpy. He is hysterically surly in the morning. He wakes up too grumpy to eat, play, or even fly. "Looks like I'm walking today," he says. Grumpy Bird, my new favorite matutinal misanthrope, passes Sheep, Rabbit, Raccoon, Beaver, and Fox, and they all ask him what he's doing. Not surprisingly, he snaps back comments like, "'Let me give you a hint . . . You do it by placing one foot in front of the other.'" The animals all manage to be fairly chipper in the mornings (an emotional state I cannot fathom for having just woken) and happily join him on his walk. When bird suddenly stops, so do all the animals. When he stands on one leg, so do they. When he jumps, so do they. "'Hey, this is fun! . . . Let's fly back to my nest for a snack,'" Grumpy Bird says, managing to be lifted from his Fog of Irritability by the mere presence of his friends and a bit of cheery camraderie. If the story itself sounds appealing to you, let me tell you: It. gets. even. better. Tankard's mixed-media artwork is top-notch. Tankard uses real photographs in the backdrops of each spread (real trees, real houses, real clouds) and then superimposes upon those images his multi- and brightly-colored, kaleidoscopic designs. It's absolutely beautiful. The animals themselves are composed of simple shapes with a heavy, black brushstroke outlining them. But I could pore over his trippy background designs forever. That cover doesn't do justice to what you'll see inside. Go read it. My favorite picture book thus far this year.

This book arrived as a gift for my 3 and 5 year old yesterday. After reading it for our bedtime story, twice, I knew it was a winner.
Sure enough, this morning it's been read no less than about 20 times.
It's not a long story, (good for lot's of repeat readings), but it's so adorable.
And the pictures? Fantastic. Bright, bold and very textured.
The best part? The funny surprise ending.
You can't miss with this book!

My kids are 6 and 3 and this book is a favorite in our house. Great artwork and adorable story!

I enjoy reading this book to my son who is 15 months old. He enjoys is when my husband and I add inflection to the grumpy bird's words. Wish it came in a board book though.

Everyone gets grumpy. This story tells you of a bird who wakes up grumpy, but with the company of friends, decides to be happy. A simple and truly valuable tale. Funny too.