Bumpa Rumpus and the Rainy Day

Waking up to the plup-plup sounds of a rain-filled gutter and the tik-tik noises of a splattered windowpane, Little Bumpa devises a wonderful idea for livening up a future sunny day and sets out in the middle of a shower.

PreSchool-Grade 2?Bumpa Rumpas, with his love for auditory uproar, is the liveliest kid to come along since Barbro Lindgren's "Wild Baby." The youngster gets out of bed on a quiet Sunday morning "with a bangity- THUMP. BAM-BAM to the window, and SQUEEP with his nose..." The sounds of the rain entice him outside with jars to catch the wonderful rain-din. Then a disappointed Bumpa discovers that the jars no longer hold rain-music. But not to worry, Ma and Pa nicely fill the noise gap when they wake up to discover that the roof is leaking. Gon's watercolors heighten the lovely splash. The story is well told in rhyming couplets, filled with onomatopoetic words, e.g., Pa "donked his toe." Preschoolers will chime in on the sound effects, and older students will appreciate the story's creative use of language.?Ruth Semrau, formerly at Lovejoy School, Allen, TX
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Playful language makes up for a thin plot in this tribute to the sounds of rain. One morning, Bumpa Rumpus leaps out of bed "with a bangity-THUMP" and notices that it's raining ("Plup-Plup from the gutter/ Tik-Tik from the glass/ Tom-Tom on the roof/ And ta-toosh on the grass"). Captivated by the splashing sounds, Bumpa finds some empty jars and goes outside to capture the noise-but when he returns indoors, he finds the containers hold only quiet water. He's disappointed until he hears a "yargerling... from Ma's side of the wall": his parents have been rudely awakened by rainwater leaking wildly through the roof. "Rain isn't the stuff you keep in a jar./ To get the best rumpus you need Ma and Pa," Bumpa cheerfully observes, unconcerned that his dry shelter is being flooded. First-time author Reay creatively employs onomatopoeia and rhyme, while Gon suggests the nonstop rain with diagonal dotted lines of blue. Zigzag squiggles of ink over watercolors convey Bumpa's busy pace and add a frantic note to the finale. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.