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The Grumbletroll ISBN: 9780764361173
Aprilkind, Pricken, Stephan and Speulhof, Barbara van den
Published by Schiffer Kids, 2021
The Grumbletroll is amazing! Nothing in his life seems to go right. His attempt to build a cottage where 'he can play, and hide himself away. And rest when he is tired' is disastrous, and his tummy begins to rumble. Next he wants an apple to eat, but the apples perversely refuse to fall off the tree, no matter how hard he tries. 'I want it! I want it!' he cries, but to no avail, and he is angrier still. He makes paper boats, but when he floats them, they sink. Then he tries to run away to 'somewhere else', but a huge stone blocks his path: 'It's as if there is a thunderstorm living inside him.' And he becomes a real Grumbletroll. His anger means he can't sleep, so he sits up all night, much to his four friends disgust, and in the morning he is still so angry, shouting and stamping, that his friends pack up and leave: 'Enough is enough', calls the Mouse. But when they are gone, he realizes that it is too quiet and very boring, and he is sorry for his anger. The Bird, the Mouse, the Hedgehog and the Rabbit accept his apology, and all five of them build a proper cottage where they all live happily ever after. The illustrations for this great story are full of the tiny details beloved by young children - the mouse's tiny house in a tin can, the rabbit who lives behind a sturdy door in a hillside, two frogs sunbathing beside a stream with their sweets and a radio - all lovely things for conversation. But it is the Grumbletroll himself who is rightly the star of the show, and his learning a lesson about his anger is something for us all. Available from book shops, from Amazon, and from the distributor in this country: www.gazellebookservices.co.uk.
Age: 3+