Mr. Gumpy's Outing

Mr. Gumpy's Outing
John Burningham
Henry Holt and Company, 1866
Pages: 30
Reading Level: 4-8
Genre: Picture Book

Mr. Gumpy lived in a house by the river and owned a boat. He was going out on his boat one day, and two children asked if they could come. He said yes, but only if they didn't squabble. Then a rabbit asked, and Mr. Gumpy said yes, only if he didn't hop. Then he let a cat if he didn't chase the rabbit, a dog if he didn't tease the cat, a pig if he didn't muck about, a sheep if he didn't bleat, some chickens if they didn't flap, a calf if he didn't trample about, and a goat if he didn't kick. For a while they went along happily, but then the goat kicked, calf trampled, chickens flapped, sheep bleated, pig mucked, dog teased, cat chased, rabbit hopped, children squabbled, and the boat tipped. They walked home in the hot sun to dry, and went and had tea. Then Mr. Gumpy bade them all farewell and told then to come back again later.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Problems this book could cause: This book could cause kids to think it's okay if they don't listen to instructions.

My reaction: I did not like this book at all. It was boring and had no theme.

My rating: **