Good Morning, Grizzle Grump!

by Aaron Blecha, Aaron Blecha (Illustrator)

Overview

Winter is over! Spring has sprung! Grizzle Grump has just woken up from his long winter slumber. His big bear belly is quite rumbly. So he sets off with his trusty squirrel sidekick in search of a springtime snack.

He gathers berries, but they go missing.

He catches fish, but they disappear.

Grizzle Grump finally finds his food…along with another big surprise!

In this follow-up to Goodnight, Grizzle Grump!, Aaron Blecha presents another lively read-aloud tale with heart and humor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062297495
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/18/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Aaron Blecha is an artist who creates funny characters and illustrates humorous books, including two series, George Brown, Class Clown and Shark School. Aaron was raised by giant squid in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He now lives with his family by the south English seaside. This is the first book he's written and illustrated.

Aaron Blecha is an artist who creates funny characters and illustrates humorous books, including two series, George Brown, Class Clown and Shark School. Aaron was raised by giant squid in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He now lives with his family by the south English seaside. This is the first book he's written and illustrated.

Editorial Reviews

maintains the brightly colored, crisp look of the first book, with a wonderfully detailed pictorial map depicting the biomes of Grizzle’s world....like the first, a natural for reading aloud.” — Booklist

“The cartoon-style illustrations in colored pencil have an immediate appeal...the brief text is well-paced and punchy, with lots of motion and comical details...Grizzle Grump and his odd squirrel friend are an unlikely but endearing pair.” — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

maintains the brightly colored, crisp look of the first book, with a wonderfully detailed pictorial map depicting the biomes of Grizzle’s world....like the first, a natural for reading aloud.

Booklist

maintains the brightly colored, crisp look of the first book, with a wonderfully detailed pictorial map depicting the biomes of Grizzle’s world....like the first, a natural for reading aloud.

Booklist

06/01/2017
PreS-Gr 1—In this follow-up to the hilarious Goodnight, Grizzle Grump!, Blecha takes readers on a familiar yet new journey with his grumpy grizzly bear. Spring arrives and the bear awakens. With a "sniff sniff snuffle," this hungry fellow follows his nose from meal to meal, just to watch his food get snatched by other bears. The narrative flows smoothly. On pages where the bear gathers food, his actions draw readers' eyes from the verso to the recto, right into a trio of paws reaching from beyond the page turn. Visually and verbally, Blecha's work lends itself well to a storytime setting. Many aspects make it a great choice for dialogic reading, and onomatopoeic words (which are usually highlighted in eye-catching yellow and orange font) are integral to the telling. Keen observers will also note the smaller "hee hee hees" coming from the hidden squirrel and delight in being in on the surprise before the reveal. Goofy character designs, reminiscent of those in animated TV shows, fit the silly tone. VERDICT The reoccurring sound effects, funny narrative, and interactive elements make this a great book for engaging the storytime crowd.—Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

School Library Journal

2017-01-17
In this sequel to Goodnight, Grizzle Grump! (2015), a huge, brown bear has trouble finding food after emerging from hibernation.The bear is the last animal to wake up when his squirrel friend knocks on the door of his den to rouse him. The squirrel carries a large, old-fashioned picnic basket and follows the hungry bear as he searches for a "springtime snack." Using his sense of smell, the bear finds different types of berries, then fish, and then bugs, setting each thematic feast out on a picnic cloth. Each time it's laid out, he turns away to look for the squirrel, who is always hiding inside the picnic basket, giggling. Mysterious, furry arms reach in from off the edge of the page to steal each feast, and each succeeding page shows a group of bears marching off with the stolen food. The increasingly hungry bear and squirrel sidekick keep searching, and at last they arrive at a surprise banquet arranged by the thieving bears, with the missing food arranged on checked cloths for the group to share. The cartoon-style illustrations in colored pencil have an immediate appeal, with bug-eyed animals, detailed woodsy settings, and enlarged display type describing sound effects ("trample trudge trample trudge"). The brief text is well-paced and punchy, with lots of motion and comical details creating a humorous if not scientifically well-grounded story. (The textual implication that all the animals were hibernating makes this problematic as an extension of science curricula.) Grizzle Grump and his odd squirrel friend are an unlikely but endearing pair. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews