A Doodle-Head Named Whompi

by Laura Lafferty (Illustrator), Laura Lafferty

Overview

Whompi is a Doodle-Head who lives in the Doodle-Valley, where everything is the same as it ever was. Walking through the woods, Whompi finds some strange purple fruit. The songbirds eat them and turn purple. The ants eat them, and they turn purple too. And when Whompi eats one, well, suddenly he's a purple Doodle-Head. Of course, being purple has its drawbacks. Whompi's playmates laugh at him and run away, leaving him all alone. What about his parents? Will they be upset when they see their purple Doodle-Head son? And what if Whompi stays purple forever? It's a good thing Whompi lives in Doodle-Valley, where things have a way of working out for the best. Originally written for her two grandsons, Laura Lafferty's story of purple-faced Whompi is a delight to read. She weaves together a message of ecological sustainability with a charming, gentle story of friendship. Whompi's tale is ideal for reading to children ages three to seven, and can be enjoyed also by older children just learning to read. The book is also available in German at www.createspace.com/4642751. The second book in the Whompi of Doodle-Valley series is "Whompi's Doodle-Woods Adventure" at www.createspace.com/4853487.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493583713
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	02/19/2014
Series:	Whompi of Doodle-Valley , #1
Pages:	34
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.09(d)

About the Author

Laura Lafferty was born in Germany and grew up in a small Bavarian village. Her sense of adventure led her to the United States, where she married and raised a daughter and son.

Laura's German upbringing left her familiar with Europe's wonderful fairytales, and she enjoyed bonding with her children over books. Becoming a grandmother encouraged her to create new memories for her two grandsons. She plans to continue Whompi's doodletastic adventures in future books.

Editorial Reviews

2014-05-09
This well-meaning first book of Doodle-Head celebrates differences.Lafferty sets a fairy-tale tone from the opening line: "This is the story of Whompi, a Doodle-Head who lived in Doodle-Valley, where everything was as it always had been." The debut author's unpolished color illustrations show Whompi dressed as a little boy who seems to have a clump of grass for hair. The border of purple bubbles lends a bouncy, celebratory feel. Circumstances shift in Doodle-Valley when Whompi discovers some "doodlelicious" purple balls. After watching as white songbirds, then brown ants eat the berries and turn purple, Whompi gets hungry and saves purple balls for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When friends come looking for him, they laugh at his purple color—and run away. Dejected, Whompi falls asleep on the balls he calls Bumpulumps, and his friends realize they shouldn't have teased and abandoned Whompi. Flat statements, such as "Whompi was happy to have his friends back and was not sad anymore," do little to heighten suspense or raise emotional stakes. Soon, all the boys eat Bumpulumps and feel special as they do "their headstands while being purple from head to toe." Although they worry what their parents will say, none of the seven fathers (no mothers) is angry. "The parents told the worried little Doodle-Heads that everything would be okay," though the boys have to promise not to try anything new again without asking their parents first. The parents, who remember eating the purple balls, are happy they can still eat them occasionally. Whompi suggests a new holiday when all can eat Bumpulump cake and play Bumpulump games. The Doodle-Heads "shouted ‘Yeess!' six times, and that made it official. All was as it had been before, but now it was even better."While less moralizing and more skillful text and art would have made this book even better, its whimsy and wordplay make it worth a try.

Kirkus Reviews