Mum said, “Deep breaths, now let’s count out four.”
Grumbelina took one and grumbled some more.
I’m sure we’ve all met or all have been a Grumbelina in our time and Esther Krogdahl’s new book certainly shows young readers just how easy it is to switch between the grumbliest of grumblers into the sweetest of the sweet!
Meet Hazel Spratt, a lovely three year old she is until the day she turns three and a half – then suddenly – her alter ego, Grumbelina appears on the scene.
Grumbelina not only grumbles, she rips things apart, makes a mess and generally makes life difficult for her parents.
Written in rhyme and accompanied by Aleksandra Szmidt’s colourful and detailed illustrations, Grumbelina is a great book to read out loud to young children.
Children will delight in the switch between Grumbelina and Hazel Spratt along with having a laugh or a shock at the things she gets up to!
Grumbelina is a picture book that can be used to learn more about character traits and descriptive writing. As mentioned before, Aleksandra Szmidt’s illustrations can also be looked at in more detail as there are many more hidden additions to the story through picture.
What else can be done with this book
Literacy
- Use this book to encourage more descriptive writing about characters. Use the illustrations and the words used to describe both Grumbelina and Hazel Spratt.
- Use language of comparison to compare between the two personalities
Visual Literacy
- Look at how the illustrations add a lot more to the story. Choose some of the double page spread to explore what else we know about the characters through the images.
