My Review
As far as sweet, adorable picture books go, I have to say that I think The Giant Jumperee is one of the best that I’ve come across! Not only was it a fun book to read, with an engaging story and beautiful pictures, but it was a sweet story with a little bit of a mystery that is perfectly enjoyable for even the youngest of readers.
Our story starts off with Rabbit, who is heading home to his burrow. When he reaches the burrow, however, he hears a voice proclaiming “I’m the Giant Jumperee and I’m as scary as I can be!”
Terrified of the monster in his burrow, he hurries on to tell Cat what happened. Of course, Cat heads to the burrow to try and get the Giant Jumperee out, but fails, as well. It goes down the line for Bear and Elephant, as well, until they finally tell Mama Frog what is going on. Mama Frog, brave as can be, heads into the burrow to solve the problem once and for all.
The ending of the book is such a sweet, unexpected surprise, especially when reading it the first time through. Although, I have read this book to my daughters countless times now, and the story still fuels a fit of laughter for them each time.
I can’t say that I’ve had the pleasure to experience any of the other wonderful books by the author and illustrator of this one, but the two clearly make an amazing pair when it comes to creating a lovely little masterpiece for young children (and adults, as I have to say that this is one of my favorite picture books of all time). It’s fun, playful, and really shows how important it is to be brave and try your hardest to help you friends (and that it’s perfectly fine to ask your friends for help if you run into trouble!).
If you love picture books, you’re definitely going to enjoy this one. If you have young children (my daughters are four and seven and love this book), this is the perfect book to settle down with for story time – although you should expect to have to reenact the story with them (my four year old makes me do this with her so often, and it always ends in us laughing and reading the story again). It really is one of those books that are easy to latch onto and fun to read again and again.
The Giant Jumperee is such a warm and inviting book that is ideal for classrooms or bedtime stories, or just when you’ve had a rough day and you need to unwind. It’s definitely going to be a new classic!
