GOOD-BYE, FUNNY DUMPY-LUMPY

by Bernard Waber ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1977

In the easy-reading mode (though not the dimensions, this being a wider 7fl x 9fl), Waber gives us five homey scenes from the life of a happy, middle-class pre-WW I family of cats. There is a funny little sketch called ""Everybody,"" with Monroe and Eudora getting ready for school and explaining to their parents that ""Everybody wears their hats backwards"" and ""They don't carry schoolbags anymore""; there is a visit from ""Great-Grandfather"" whom they all must kiss though he doesn't remember their names (when he takes out his teeth at bedtime, Octavia asks if he can take his tongue out too); and there is a glimpse of someone else's sadness in ""Picnic"" which begins with kites and games and ends with Aunt Effie in tears and Uncle Wally falling into the lake after too much wine. In contrast, the saddest moment for the family is saying good-bye to their lumpy old sofa when a new one arrives; and the biggest problem at the ""Outdoor Concert"" is,as Mother puts it, ""three children and only two laps."" Likable.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1977

Categories: CHILDREN'S