Customer Reviews

Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not unlike Dr. Seuss, yet somehow significantly different, the author of the Mr. Gumpy series has successfully combined simple, entertaining drawings with a unique, almost experimental style of children's writing that focuses on the sounds of words and their relationships with other words. Sound repitition plays a key role in the rhythm and tempo of the Mr. Gumpy books in the tradition of The Cat In The Hat, but with a much less silly tone. Burnigham, instead of make-believe words and characters, uses higher-level colloquial language and animal characters that can talk. The short adventures of Mr. Gumpy and his friends will be entertaining to adults and brief enough to hold the attention of young children, who really enjoy the active black and white pictures. This book must be read aloud to fully experience the polished sounds of the carefully chosen words. Read it to your child, and the sentences will dance off your tongue and perform a ballet for those wh! o are listening.

My two-year-old absolutely loves this story. Ever since we've discovered it, he has me read it too him every night before bedtime. It is just as fun and amusing for adults to read as it is for children. My son loves to "read" along as he has memorized practically the whole book. The illustrations are great and only add to the excitement of the book. Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car is told in a simplistic manner that is even understandable to very young children.

Lovely, lovely book. Gentle ramblings through the countryside reminiscent of a bygone age. Highly recommended.

Mr Gumpy's Motor Car: Book and CDMy daughter's favorite book for quite a long time; she called it "The Rain Book," we think because she was so impressed by the wonderful evocative pictures of the stormy part of the day, just before the car got stuck in the mud. In reading the part about the efforts the children and animals made to push the car out of the mud, my husband took great liberties, adding his own verbs to the list in the book: "they pushed and shoved and heaved and . . . ." A perfect book for a small person to memorize and "read" aloud, long before he or she can actually read. And a pleasure for the parents as well.

This book is great for acting out with preschoolers. Its repetetive text makes it easy for them to participate. Anyone who has a child who loves cars and animals and silly stories will have fun reading this book to their children.

I can't really explain why this book is so charming or why 35 years after it was read to me as a child it delights our toddler when we read it to him. The illustrations are unusual and charming. The story is a simple one. Yet the whole thing comes together in a way that is quite magical. This is a wonderful book, and one that I enjoy reading over and over night after night to our little boy.

Very simple, very repetitive, not overly exciting but interesting and calming instead. Very good for naptime or bedtime.

Probably won't hold an older child's attention that well, so leave it to the younger end of the 4-8 crowd, and their younger siblings as well.

Excellent Book. It was in excellent condition. Appropriate for ages 4 and up.

Winner of awards? Hmmm. This book was given two thumbs down from my crew: boy and girl; nearly 4 and 6. They found this book dull and lacking in the plot department. And I have to agree with them.

Story: People and animals pile in a car. It rains. Mr. Gumpy decides someone needs to push to get them up a hill. No one wants to push. Car gets stuck. Everyone pushes. Everyone gets dirty. Everyone goes home. Sun shines again.

Two Stars. Amazon suggests an age range from `baby to preschool', but I would suggest baby to toddler might be better. I think by preschool children expect more from a story. And as a Mom, I would hope they might learn something. Unlike the Little Red Hen, there was no real `lesson' or moral to this story. Characters refused to help until they were absolutely forced to; and that was that. No consequences.

[Someone thought the text was amusing and clever, Suessian I think they called it, but I found it rather common. Example from book follows so you can judge for yourself.]


The car edged its way to the top of the hill.
They looked up and saw that the sun
was shining again.
It began to get hot.

"We'll drive home across the bridge,"
said Mr. Gumpy.
"Then you can go for a swim."
And they did.
After a while it was time to go home.

"Good-by," said Mr. Gumpy.
"Come for a drive another day."

(The End.)