Rhino Rumpus

by Victoria Allenby, Tara Anderson (Illustrator)

Overview

In bouncing rhyme, three rhino siblings squabble and spat their way through their bedtime routine. When they realize how tired their bickering has made Mama Rhino, the three find common ground in giving her a sweet surprise.

Three little rhinos are having trouble getting along as Mama tries to coax them through the evening routine. Will they fidget, fuss, and fight right up until bedtime? Or will their Mama’s love help them find some common ground?

Victoria Allenby and Tara Anderson, the award-winning author-illustrator team behind Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That, return with a lively story that will warm the heart of any frazzled parent.

Children will find mischievous delight in the young rhinos’ misbehaviour, told in bouncing rhyme and energetic illustrations that blend true rhino form with an imaginative setting. And ultimately they, like the rhino siblings, may be inspired to acknowledge and reward their parents’ patient love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781927485965
Publisher:	Pajama Press Inc.
Publication date:	11/02/2016
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Victoria Allenby has been writing poetry and stories for as long as she can remember. Her debut picture book, Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That, won the 2014 Preschool Reads Award and was nominated for the 2015 SYRCA Shining Willow Award. Timo’s Garden, published in 2015, has been a resounding popular and critical success. A freelance writer and editor, Victoria lives in Toronto, Ontario.

A folk artist and award-winning illustrator who trained at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Tara Anderson is known for her lively and humorous illustrations of animals. Her debut That Stripy Cat was followed with Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That, which was a Bank Street Best Book, won the 2014 Preschool Reads Award, and was nominated for the 2015 SYRCA Shining Willow Award. Tara shares a farmhouse in Tweed, Ontario, with her husband, her young daughter, and several cats.

Read an Excerpt

One little rhino in a mood.

Two little rhinos acting rude.

Three little rhinos tussling, fighting.

Mama rhino cries, "No biting!"

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2016
Bedtime preparations prove anything but restful for three rhino siblings in this slice-of-life story from the team behind Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That (2014). Mama rhino is the voice of reason as Allenby describes the household chaos in rhymes that bound along with her young heroes: “One little rhino making faces./ Two little rhinos leave their places./ Three little rhinos butting heads./ Little rhinos, in your beds!” Working in pencil crayon, Anderson gives the rhinos human routines and accessories (one of the babies wears a hair bow, and Mama has a set of pearls), and she plays up the physical comedy of their rambunctiousness, whether it’s a rhino sending food and drink flying during dinner or a bathtub pileup that leaves “one little rhino feeling squashed.” Allenby interrupts her rhymes with a handful of sound effects (“Fidget fuss frump/ Huff harrumph”), as well as a brief bedtime song that helps shift the story’s mood to one of calm. It’s a playful celebration of both the commotion of daily life and the love among members of a family. Ages 2–4. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Rhino Rumpus

2017 Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids & Teens Starred Selection

2016 Resource Links "The Year's Best" selection

"This romp of a picture book for very young audiences begs to be read aloud....Adult readers should be prepared to harrumph, gripe, snipe, grumble, and roar. The pencil-and-crayon illustrations do an effective job of conveying the mayhem, and the facial expressions add to the general hilarity. While this would be a great choice for library storytime, it's not really recommended for bedtime [because] most young readers will be way too riled up."—Booklist

"This selection will certainly strike a familiar chord with squabbling siblings and their frazzled parents..."—School Library Journal

"A playful celebration of both the commotion of daily life and the love among members of a family."—Publishers Weekly

"Thanks to its bubbly rhythm, Rhino Rumpus is a great candidate for story time with toddlers. The energetic language and rhymes are made to be read aloud and the illustrations are equally as exciting and expressive. Preschoolers with siblings (or parents with rambunctious little rhinos of their own) will relate to this story and have a lot of fun reading together."—Resource Links

"The fun story is replete with lovely, large-size drawings of young rhinos at play: the very young picture book readers will relish these lively images and the very easy read."—Midwest Book Review

"Tara Anderson's folksy pencil crayon and acrylic illustrations show the squabbling siblings in all of their mischievous glory....Victoria Allenby's zippy verse is full of repetition, and fun sound words like 'Fidget fuss frump', 'Huff harrumph' and 'Grump grumble Bump-a-rump'. Rhino Rumpus is a rollicking read-aloud and a great choice for toddler storytimes."—CM Magazine

"This is an action packed story...told in rhyme that flows nicely and the illustrations capture the energy that the rhinos have."—Youth Services Book Review

"I liked this book; it was so funny! It made me think of when it's time for me to go to bed and I drive my mama crazy by running around....But then she'll read me a book and snuggle with me so that I can relax and fall asleep."—Brian, Age 5, Kids' BookBuzz

"The text is perfect for toddlers who will delight in its simplicity and sounds....Tara Anderson...animates the text with her coloured pencil illustrations that convey exuberance, joy, mischief and affection with each stroke."—CanLit for LittleCanadians

"This is definitely a book all moms can understand. Being a mom is tough work, being a mom is tiring, but we all think our little ones are the best ever!"—All Booked Up Now

From the Publisher

The fun story is replete with lovely, large-size drawings of young rhinos at play: the very young picture book readers will relish these lively images and the very easy read.

Midwest Book Review

This romp of a picture book for very young audiences begs to be read aloud. The plot is fairly simple: a trio of squabbling rhino siblings can’t quite manage to get ready for bed, despite poor, exhausted Mama’s best efforts. Familiar bedtime activities, including finishing dinner, taking a bath, and brushing teeth involve pushing, bumping, butting, biting—and Mama’s exasperated interventions. Goodnight stories and songs calm things down a bit, and the action ends with a big group hug for Mama and (almost) everybody falling sound asleep. The rhyming text incorporates numerous exclamations and sound effects. Adult readers should be prepared to harrumph, gripe, snipe, grumble, and roar. The pencil-and-crayon illustrations do an effective job of conveying the mayhem, and the facial expressions add to the general hilarity. While this would be a great choice for library storytime, it’s not really recommended for bedtime—most young readers will be way too riled up.

Booklist

This is definitely a book all moms can understand. Being a mom is tough work, being a mom is tiring, but we all think our little ones are the best ever!

All Booked Up Now

This is an action packed story…told in rhyme that flows nicely and the illustrations capture the energy that the rhinos have....Children ages, 3-6 will understand the humor and will be able to empathize with the exhausted mother.

Youth Services Book Review

The text is perfect for toddlers who will delight in its simplicity and sounds....Tara Anderson...animates the text with her coloured pencil illustrations that convey exuberance, joy, mischief and affection with each stroke.

CanLit for LittleCanadians

Thanks to its bubbly rhythm, Rhino Rumpus is a great candidate for story time with toddlers. The energetic language and rhymes are made to be read aloud and the illustrations are equally as exciting and expressive. Preschoolers with siblings (or parents with rambunctious little rhinos of their own) will relate to this story and have a lot of fun reading together.

Resource Links

Bedtime preparations aren’t going too smoothly in the Rhino household. The three Rhino babies fight over toys, make faces at each other and start a riot in the bathtub. Their escapades are recounted in spare, rhyming text. Mama Rhino intervenes with soothing calmness and, after helping them brush their teeth, sends them to sleep with a kiss and a song: “Ohhh, from your hooves to the tip of your horn, Oooh, I’ve loved you since the day you were born.” Mama’s love is reciprocated with a big family hug and a quiet moment to herself.

Tara Anderson’s folksy pencil crayon and acrylic illustrations show the squabbling siblings in all of their mischievous glory. They butt heads, overturn chairs, and snap towels at each other. Mama Rhino, bedecked in a pearl necklace and hoop earrings, keeps her composure throughout the turmoil.

Victoria Allenby’s zippy verse is full of repetition, and fun sound words like “Fidget fuss frump”, “Huff harrumph” and “Grump grumble Bump-a-rump”. Rhino Rumpus is a rollicking read-aloud and a great choice for toddler storytimes.

CM Magazine

11/01/2016
Toddler-PreS—Three rambunctious little rhinos wreak havoc while their mother tries to coax them through their bedtime routine. They tussle, fight, grunt, and bite—while poor Mama becomes more and more despondent and frustrated. But don't worry—(spoiler alert!) all's well that ends well, with Mama on the receiving end of a gigantic rhino hug! Allenby's jazzy verse tries to evoke a rollicking tone but occasionally seems forced, with some stilted lines: "Here's a kiss and here's a song—/Ohhh, from your hooves to the tip of your horn/Ohhh, I've loved you since the day you were born/And when you wake,/please get along!" Meanwhile, Anderson's pencil and crayon illustrations attempt this same playfulness, but the rhinos' mouths and bodies often appear slightly stretched or contorted, resulting in some strange-looking characters. VERDICT This selection will certainly strike a familiar chord with squabbling siblings and their frazzled parents and fans of Anna Dewdney and Sandra Boynton, but more charming rhyming stories abound.—Laura Lintz, Henrietta Public Library, Rochester, NY

School Library Journal

2016-08-17
The evening and bedtime routines of three rhinos involve lots of intervention from an exasperated mother.“One little rhino in a mood. / Two little rhinos acting rude. / Three little rhinos tussling, fighting. // Mama rhino cries, / No biting!” The evening squabbles continue through dinnertime, a bath, drying off, and brushing teeth. But when a tired Mama enjoins them, “Here’s a kiss and here’s a song… / And when you wake, please get along!” the three band together to give her some love before all fall asleep. Since Anderson favors double-page spreads over vignettes, it can be difficult for readers to pick out and count the rhinos to match the text, and this sometimes also results in the pictures not matching the rhymes at all. When Anderson shows the baby rhino in a highchair gleefully throwing food and the two older siblings on the opposite page, it is clear that the two have left their places, but the three are not butting heads as the rhyme says. Mama rhino sports a double piercing in her ear and pearls around her massive, wrinkly neck, while one child has bows on head and tail. While the rhymes and cadence may remind more than one reader of Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama, few will return for repeat outings with this trio; they lack the characterization and personality of the beloved camelid, and the illustrations just don’t do this tale justice. A rhino-miss. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews