Where's Tumpty?: A Tilly and Friends Book [Hardcover]

Polly Dunbar (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Tilly and Friends

Tumpty the elephant has his eyes tightly closed. What is he doing? He’s hiding, of course. But Tilly can still see him, even when he puts a cardboard box over his head or lies upside down behind a potted plant. All of Tumpty’s friends find his antics very funny . . . but wait! Where did Tumpty go?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1—After several unsuccessful attempts at hiding, Tumpty the elephant is able to trick his friends into thinking he has disappeared. They search the house high and low, and he finally appears after being enticed by cookies and declarations of concern. There are many amusing situations involving Tilly, a little girl, and her animal friends. The characters appear in the prologue in the yellow house they share and are introduced one by one in the following scenes. Not all of the action takes place in the foreground. There is a doorway in the top corner that the animals peek in and out of. It also serves as a foreshadowing device. Text is placed above the character that is speaking and is a larger size. The background consists of a variety of muted tones, which contrast with the brighter mixed-media drawings. The illustrations are whimsical and detailed. Most of the characters have rosy cheeks and wear different patterns, and their emotions are readily apparent. At one point, the pig laughs so hard he is crying, and the chicken falls on her back in a fit of giggles. Tumpty is comedic without realizing it. His antics are similar to those in Mo Willems's "Elephant & Piggie" series (Hyperion). Young children and beginning readers are sure to gravitate to this delightful story that celebrates the joy of friendship.—Lori A. Guenthner, Baltimore County Public Library, Randallstown, MD
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From Booklist

In this delightful new addition to the Tilly and Friends series, housemate Tumpty is hiding. Well, he is closing his eyes and says he is hiding, but of course, he is still easy to see, especially since he is a blue elephant. He puts a cardboard box on his head and gets behind a plant, but Tilly and Hector the pig just laugh at his concealment efforts, as do the rest of the residents of the yellow house. While they’re giggling, Tumpty sneaks off, and a game of hide-and-seek ensues, proving that perhaps Tumpty knows how to hide after all. The watercolor-and-ink art, simple, fresh, and clean, charms, imbuing this diverse group of friends with personality as they participate in activities right at the heart of children’s experiences. Fun to read aloud to lap sitters and groups, as is its companion book, Pretty Pru (2009). Preschool-Kindergarten. --Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (February 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763642738
• ISBN-13: 978-0763642730
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.4 x 11.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Elephants

More About the Author

Polly Dunbar graduated from Brighton Art School in 1999 where she studied illustration. Polly still lives and works in Brighton. Author and illustrator of Penguin, Dog Blue and Flyaway Katie. Polly is the daughter of the distinguished author Joyce Dunbar who she collaborated with on the picture book Shoe Baby. She is the illustrator of My Dad's a Birdman and The boy who climbed into the Moon, both written by David Almond. Polly also illustrated Here's a Little Poem, an anthology of poems for very young children. Her best selling book Penguin won the Nestle Silver award 2007, The Book trust early Years award 2007, The Red house award 2008 and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Polly is the author and illustrator of Tilly and Friends, a humorous and colourful series of six books following the escapades of a little girl and her animal friends who all live together in a little yellow house.
Polly is the co-founder of Long Nose puppets, an award winning puppet company, they have made successful adaptations of the books Shoe Baby, Fly Away Katie and Penguin. Long Nose Puppets are currently touring the UK.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful series, December 17, 2009

By 

Librajen (LI, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where's Tumpty?: A Tilly and Friends Book (Hardcover)

As a Children's Librarian and a mom, I love the Tilly and Friends series and so does my 2 1/2 year old daughter. They are perfect for the toddler set that is beyond basic board books but not quite ready for preschool picture books. The illustrations are simple but very expressive, and I love the personalities and friendship. WHERE'S TUMPTY is my favorite one because his idea of hiding is exactly like a toddler's idea of hiding. My daughter's favorite one is PRETTY PRU.

5.0 out of 5 stars Where's Tumpty?, November 24, 2011

By 

K. Walsh (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where's Tumpty?: A Tilly and Friends Book (Hardcover)

My two year old twins love the entire series about Tilly and her friends. Tumpty is my daughter's favorite. We read this book every night right now!

5.0 out of 5 stars Help kiddos understand the basics of friendship with the help of a delightful cast of characters., June 30, 2011

By 

Danielle M. Smith "The1stdaughter" (San Luis Obispo, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where's Tumpty?: A Tilly and Friends Book (Hardcover)

Tilly and her friends are up to the usual; playing, dressing up, painting, hiding, reading, sleeping and much much more. Doing what kids do best and sometimes...what they don't do so well; biting, yelling, pushing and other not to nice things. What Tilly does for her friends though is show them how to behave their very best and enjoy being together.

This series, though not flashy with glitter and neon colors, is a stand out in my opinion. Without a doubt, over the last couple of months that we've been reading it both Littlebug and Turkeybird have wanted to read each book over and over again, more than any other books on the shelf. To be honest, I was a bit surprised. When they arrived (unjacketd, of course, which is fantastic!) the seemingly plain book spine and pencil type illustrations didn't seem to me to be something the kiddos would gravitate towards. I did of course, I devoured each book that evening on my own, loving the very simple yet beautiful illustrations of Tilly, Tumpty, Doodle and the others. Not to mention the stories were adorable, teaching kids to be polite, not grumpy or selfish, not to bite, when to go to bed and more but in a very funny way. They were also some of the first that my dear sweet Baker (hubby) has really enjoyed reading as well (he's extremely picky about picture books).

Well, I once had a doctor jokingly tell me, "Kids live to prove you wrong" and that is absolutely the case with these books. Immediately they loved them. Not only that, but as Littlebug mentioned, her recent elephant gift for her birthday has been named Tumpty (pronounced "Tumppy" by her) and it must go with her everywhere. They've absolutely fallen in love with the series, as have I.

Tilly and Friends may seem a quiet and inconspicuous, but once you open the pages you'll quickly see precisely how delightful these characters are. Helping children to see there is a better way to treat our friends isn't always the easiest thing either, but with Tilly and her troop of animal friends children will be able to gain a better understanding of some of the most basic concepts that can often be taken for granted by adults. Polly Dunbar has made a beautiful set of books that not only children will love, but parent will love as well. Our family being one that is entirely captivated with this series of books and I know many other families will be as well. Do not pass this series of books up for a much more `shinny' picture book, you would be missing out on some of your best reading time ever with your kiddos.

Originally reviewed & copyrighted on my site, There's A Book.