Grumbler

by Arielle Haughee, Marina Veselinovic (Illustrator)

Overview

Grumbler lives alone in the dump and that's just the way he likes it. But when a stray tuna can accidentally brings Grumbler a new friend and this strange thing 'love,' he must get rid of the tingly, terrible, thing. As he travels through the forest trying to give love away, more and more seems to come back to him. How will he ever get rid of it?

This book was inspired by Warren Buffett's quote, "Love is a strange thing. You try to give it away and you get more back." Grumbler is a story of humor and personal growth where we learn that sharing love can bring the greatest joy in life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781949935042
Publisher:	Orange Blossom Publishing
Publication date:	04/01/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	609 KB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Previously an elementary teacher, Arielle Haughee (Hoy) is a six-time RPLA-winning author and the owner of Orange Blossom Publishing. She is an editor, speaker, and writing coach, and was previously the Executive Vice President for the Florida Writers Association. She is the author of multiple children’s books, including Grumbler and Sixth Sunday. She lives in Central Florida with her husband and two boys, and loves playing merge games on her iPad. Her four favorite things are dogs, babies, bacon, and purple.
Marina Veselinovic is the illustrator for Grumbler. Marina is an artist from Serbia, currently living and working in Belgrade. She specializes in magazine and book illustration. Her work can be found in a range of different publications all over the world. She has also participated in many international illustration festivals such as Zlatno pero Belgrade, COW Festival Ukraine, Kunstentropie Vienna...and many more. Marina also has numerous solo and group exhibitions in Serbia and abroad. 

Editorial Reviews

KIRKUS REVIEWS:

A grumpy, Grinch-like creature discovers that the love he tries to get rid of keeps coming back in this picture book.

Grumbler, a potato-shaped figure with a broken, polka-dot pot for a cap, lives alone in the dump. In a crabby mood, he kicks a can of tuna—right into the paws of a hungry cat. When the feline thanks him, a heart shape extends from her chest in wonderfully cartoonish fashion. A flying heart floats over to Grumbler. Irritated by the itchy love, Grumbler tries to give the heart to two squirrels. But the love multiplies and returns. Grumbler attempts to give the love to some bunnies and then to a whole pond of creatures. Grumbler thinks he’s finally escaped and returns to the dump. But when he sees that love has brought all the animals to visit him, he realizes maybe it isn’t so bad after all. Haughee (How I Met My Other, 2019, etc.) handles the story’s message with just the right amount of cranky humor to keep it from becoming too sweet. The vocabulary challenges are all fun-to-pronounce words that young readers will enjoy, and Veselinovic’s (Where Will You Go, Ricky Jo?, 2018, etc.) charming, kid-friendly digital illustrations, populated with affable forest denizens, should be a hit. Grumbler’s heart may not grow three sizes, but he’ll keep the Grinch in good company.

A clever and heartwarming tale starring a grouchy hero.

READER'S FAVORITE:

Rating: Five Stars

Grumbler, written by Arielle Haughee and illustrated by Marina Veselinovic, is a charming story about love. Grumbler, the nasty, rude main character, is a rotting potato with a broken bowl for a hat. He lives alone inside a trash heap. Animals who live in a nearby forest try to show love to Grumbler but Grumbler hates love. He thinks it feels tingly, itchy and terrible. But the love from the animals settles on different parts of Grumbler’s body. He can’t get rid of the love, so he goes to a pond and throws it at the animals. Then he goes back to the dump and gets in a slimy bathtub until he thinks all the love is gone. Before long, the animals of the forest come to visit him and surround him with more love. What will Grumbler do? Will he ever realize that every time he gives love away, more of it keeps coming back?



Grumbler is a delightful story by Arielle Haughee, and is inspired by Warren Buffett’s quote: “Love is a strange thing. You try to give it away and you get more back.” The author uses great descriptions to show how love makes the nasty Grumbler feel: “tingly, itchy and terrible.” As children hear the story, they will think of how love makes them feel. They will see how miserable and frustrated Grumbler feels when he tries to get rid of love by giving it away. The illustrator, Marina Veselinovic, does a great job of showing Grumbler’s mean eyes turning to kind eyes; his nastiness slowly turning to happiness. She gives the cute forest animals adorable expressions as they share love. A great, meaningful read for kids.

From the Publisher