GRAPPLING WITH THE GRUMBLIES
By: Deborah Fannie Miller
Illustrated by: Diane Jacobs
Published: September 7, 2013
Publisher: Frontenac House
Fiction
In our community, school starts in just 17 days. That’s enough to make any of us grumpy. It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over. It’s can be a shock to our systems to get back into the routine of early mornings, rushed breakfasts, and sometimes, we even have some grumpiness.
When Jessie is woken too early, it’s easy for the Grumblie to start growing. Jessie doesn’t want to get out of bed. GRUMP! He doesn’t want his favorite breakfast. GRUMP! He doesn’t like his mom to rush him. GRUMP! As he goes through the morning, the Grumblie grows bigger and bigger until he is completely in Jessie’s way. The only way through is with a light-hearted moment with his mom so they can shrink that Grumblie and make him disappear.
We have all had our grumpy mornings no matter whether we are adults or kids. This story helps kids name their emotions and recognize that everyone feels grumpy once in a while. Even moms. But, if we don’t nip the grumpiness right away, it can grow and wreck our whole attitude for the day. Jessie and his mom end up getting silly to shake off the Grumblies and it’s a great visual for kids to try next time they feel grumpy.
With the recent rise in Covid cases and schools looking at masks or no masks, your child might feel grumpy or anxious about going to school. This book offers the opportunity to have conversations about going back to school and what might make them nervous.
DEBORAH FANNIE MILLER is a widely published poet and children’s book author with three books of poetry published, and poems in two anthologies. Her work has been heard on CBC Radio, the Women’s Television Network, and Vision TV. She lives in Calgary, Alberta. Check out her website, HERE.
DIANE JACOBS illustrated Grappling with the Grumblies. Her artworks are in collections of the Getty Museum, the New York Public Library, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Learn more at her website, HERE.
To purchase a copy of GRAPPLING WITH THE GRUMBLIES, click the photo below:
All summer I’ll be sharing books for kids of all ages on topics that will interest them or offer them a new interest to learn about. Most of the time these will be nonfiction books, but sometimes we can learn how to be better people or learn empathy from fictional stories too.
So, I hope you will stay tuned to these posts. They will always have Summer Read-to-Learn in the title and in the tags. There will be books from some of my favorite publishers like National Geographic, plus, some from independent publishers. See them all, HERE.
Other posts you might like:
Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to make a purchase through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.
Posted Under Book Review, Children's books, Deborah Fannie Miller, Diane Jacobs, emotions, fiction, Summer Read-to-Learn