Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody [Hardcover]

Michael Rex (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2009 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Once there was a little mummy who wanted to run away. "If you run away," said Mother Mummy, "I will get you! For you are my rotten little mummy!"

A little mummy transforms into a series of incredible monsters in order to run away and assert his independence. His mother keeps coming to "get" him, but this little mummy has a mind of his own. Filled with uproarious illustrations, another beloved classic gets a kind-hearted send-up in this utterly monsterized parody. Ener getic art and a hilarious text will have kids begging to read this again and again.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2–Children will enjoy comparing this parody page by page to Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny (HarperCollins, 1942). When a little mummy gets in trouble, he begins an imaginary game of chase with his mother. Distinctive headgear and occasional bandages identify the two through their spooky transformations. When her child becomes a serpent, gargoyle, or huge bat, the mother becomes the sea monster, dragon, or ancient cathedral necessary to be with her child. Only when the little mummy becomes a boy (actually a bunny) who takes karate and learns to play piano does his mother have to use her most savage, awful, terrible, bloodcurdling shriek to save him. She bursts into a room, which Clement Hurd might have painted, and terrifies the parents while the green goon from Rex's Goodnight Goon (Putnam, 2008) peers through the window. Little mummy thinks it's all a scream and decides to be his mother's rotten little mummy forever. Rex uses pencil drawings colored in Photoshop for his lively cartoon illustrations. Librarians might pair this story with Brown's classic or with Robert San Souci's Cinderella Skeleton (Harcourt, 2000) for a spooky take on another classic tale and an eerie, laugh-filled storytime.–Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN
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About the Author

Michael Rex lives in the Bronx, New York. He's a big fan of The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd, but feels that it's biased against giant trampling monsters and man-eating plants.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (August 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399252037
• ISBN-13: 978-0399252037
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #508,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Illustrator Michael Rex is the author and illustrator of many books for children. He lives in the Bronx, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Horrifyingly Endearing Story - Perfect for Halloween!, September 11, 2009

By 

JBebe - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody (Hardcover)

This parody of Margaret Wise Brown's classic The Runaway Bunny is the story of a rotten little mummy who wants to run away from his Mother Mummy. "If you run away," she says, "I will get you! For you are my rotten little mummy!"

The little mummy goes on to tell his mother all sorts of monstrous creatures he will turn into if she tries to get him. When he says he'll become a "humongous beast that tramples everything in [his] way," Mother Mummy responds, "If you become a humongous beast, I will become a sky-high monster with razor-sharp claws to tickle you!"

The illustrations are crisp and colorful and fun to look at. While in The Runaway Bunny there are two pages of black and white sketches accompanied by words, followed by a full-spread color illustration, The Runaway Mummy is all in color.

This whimsical story is super cute in a freakish way, showing to what ends a Mother Mummy would go to show her love for her rotten little mummy. There is a fun twist at the end, but you must read it yourself to find out what!

This adorable book and last year's Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by the same author are PERFECT for Halloween and are wonderful gifts for fans of Margaret Wise Brown.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Seasonal Read, October 26, 2009

By 

Bibliophile By the Sea (US) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody (Hardcover)

Once there was a little mummy who wanted to run away. "If you run away," said Mother Mummy, "I will get you! For you are my rotten little mummy!"

In Runaway Mummy, a little mummy gets in trouble and he begins an imaginary game running away and being chased by his mother. The Mommy Mummy doesn't flinch when her bad boy transforms into lots of incredible creature: a serpent, a gargoyle, a huge bat, and a beast. It is only when the little mummy threatens to turn into a little boy that that Mommy Mummy begins to scream!!! If he is a little boy, that means: karate lessons, piano lessons, Spanish lessons, and more. How would he ever have time to be rotten?

Complete with beautiful colorful illustrations, this is one book, I think, that children will be asking to have read to them over and over again. If you enjoyed this author's 2008 book: Goodnight Goon, you are sure to enjoy this new book too. A perfect Halloween treat. RECOMMENDED

5.0 out of 5 stars Teacher Approved, October 11, 2011

By 

Swoodman - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody (Hardcover)

This book is full of enriching vocabulary and bright illustrations. The story is easy for kids to relate too and it is also quite funny! My first grade class and second grade daughter really enjoyed it!