Bubble Trouble

From the Publisher

“Mabel blows a bubble that envelops her baby brother, gently wafting him all over the village, causing shock and excitement among the population. Chrysta and Greville Gribble, Tybal and his mother Sybil, the crabby Copples, feeble Mrs. Treeble and Canon Dapple come up with an improbable plan to catch the bubbled baby. Meanwhile, mischievous rebel Abel bursts the bubble with his slingshot and the villagers gallantly come to the rescue by catching him in a quilt. The action moves with breathless frenzy. Mahy is a master at creating verse that is as light and airy as the baby’s bubble. Filled with lovely Briticisms, alliterative nonsense words, double, triple and internal rhymes, it’s meant to be read aloud—‘Again!’—and will lead both breathless readers and listeners to delighted giggles. The text floats across the pages in waves and arcs, and Dunbar’s joyous watercolor-and–cut-paper illustrations are wonderfully expressive, a visual treat moving apace with the text. A frothy, effervescent gift.”—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review “Bubble, bubble, tongue-twisting trouble! When Mabel blows a bubble, it causes a bit of trouble—in the inimitable Mahy way. The rhythm and rhyme of her newest exuberant offering has echoes of the ‘bibble-bubble-babble’ of her older 17 Kings and 42 Elephants (rev. 9/87) with added tongue-stumbling internal rhymes to keep even the most accomplished storyteller on her toes. Little Mabel’s bubble surrounds Baby and takes him on an adventure of amazing heights. The whole town is alarmed as the bobbling bubble floats farther astray, but happy Baby is comfortably enthralled with his bird’s-eye view of the commotion. Dunbar’s cut-paper and watercolor full-page illustrations are entirely faithful to the lively tale. Every little detail of this raucous story is depicted in the dramatic spreads—a good thing, as the words are a pleasant stretch for lap listeners. Who wouldn’t love the sound of nefarious, cavorting, grapple, and the like tripping off the reader’s tongue? The suspense builds in both words and pictures, and little ones’ eyes will be as round as the bubble. Read this aloud and expect a lot of giggles and calls for a repeat performance. It will take a few readings to get through without stumbling, but that only adds to the fun.”—Horn Book, STARRED review   “A truckload of trouble and mountains of mayhem ensue when young Mabel blows a bubble that enfolds her baby brother and carries him aloft. He is pursued by his frantic mother and sister, ‘crumpled Mr. Copple and his wife,’ ‘feeble Mrs. Threeble,’ ‘Greville Gribble,’ the chapel choir, and other townsfolk. The text floats in waves along with the bouncing baby across the energetic watercolor and cut-paper spreads. Dressed in stripes and plaids, nightshirts and jogging suits, the crowd sprints along through backyards and gardens, gesticulating wildly as the smiling infant floats by. Eventually, the rescuers form a human ladder to reach him. But Abel, ‘a rascal and a rebel,’ performs a dastardly deed with his slingshot and the people watch in horror as the baby plummets through the air. It takes three page turns for readers to reach the delightful resolution of this perilous predicament. There is no mistaking the baby’s happy landing as his smiling face and waving arms and feet fill the spread. This tale, with its over-the-top silliness, is a storyhour gem. And with some practice, the rhyme, alliterative phrases, and names will fall trippingly off the tongue. Fabulous fun!”—School Library Journal, STARRED review   “Mahy is clearly in love with language here, as she offers a text that flounces and bounces like the baby in the bubble. . . . Children will find their ears perking up at the tongue-twisting text, and they may become word lovers, too, after listening to this.”—Booklist   “An ebullient cocktail of sweetness and absurdity. . . . Readers-aloud will have as much fun as listeners with this frothy confection, so get ready to let that baby bounce.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Kristi Jemtegaard

Like [Mahy's] gleefully inflated Down the Back of the Chair, this new romp—about a tot who finds himself bobbing aloft in a baby-size bubble—is a launchpad for laughter…Polly Dunbar's illustrations, a cozy patchwork of ginghams, checks and chintzes enclosed in scribbly black pencil outlines and topped by outrageously expressive cartoon faces, are the perfect accompaniment for this freewheeling frolic.
—The Washington Post

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Oh what trouble from little Mabel's bubble! Just reading the rollicking verses aloud is trouble enough, with all the alliteration of bubble bibble-boobling and a host of internal rhymes and word play. That blown bubble picks up the baby, who likes the wibble-wobble as it wafts him away. Mabel follows after him, as does frantic Mother and a succession of other local characters. The baby in the bubble drifts by the shops and then up in the air past the chapel steeple. As the chasers pile one on another in their attempt to reach the baby, rascally Abel climbs the steeple and shoots a pebble through the bubble. Luckily the crowd catches the baby in a safety net quilt, for a happy ending to the zany adventure. Dunbar's mix of watercolors and cut paper is a fine match for the catchy patter. The comic characters are loosely defined in line drawings that exaggerate the emotional response. The lines of text add to the action by frequently flowing in arches over the heads of the crowd or racing along the path beneath their feet. This is glorious nonsensical fun. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2

A truckload of trouble and mountains of mayhem ensue when young Mabel blows a bubble that enfolds her baby brother and carries him aloft. He is pursued by his frantic mother and sister, "crumpled Mr. Copple and his wife," "feeble Mrs. Threeble," "Greville Gribble," the chapel choir, and other townsfolk. The text floats in waves along with the bouncing baby across the energetic watercolor and cut-paper spreads. Dressed in stripes and plaids, nightshirts and jogging suits, the crowd sprints along through backyards and gardens, gesticulating wildly as the smiling infant floats by. Eventually, the rescuers form a human ladder to reach him. But Abel, "a rascal and a rebel," performs a dastardly deed with his slingshot and the people watch in horror as the baby plummets through the air. It takes three page turns for readers to reach the delightful resolution of this perilous predicament. There is no mistaking the baby's happy landing as his smiling face and waving arms and feet fill the spread. This tale, with its over-the-top silliness, is a storyhour gem. And with some practice, the rhyme, alliterative phrases, and names will fall trippingly off the tongue. Fabulous fun!-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-- Five preposterous stories and narrative poems depict some unusual domestic catastrophes and their creative solutions. ``Bubble Trouble'' deals with a bubble that wafts a baby up into the air until, finally, a pebble shot from a sling-shot (shades of Kahl's The Duchess Bakes a Cake Scribners, 1955; o.p.) brings the child to safety. Word play and alliteration make this nonsense verse a good read-aloud. In ``The Runaway Reptiles,'' an alligator and crocodile disguised as elderly grandparents by their caregivers meet over the back fence, fall in love, and elope. ``Hiccups'' tells, in lilting rhyme, about the transfer of a baby's hiccups to an unsuspecting granny. ``The Gargling Gorilla'' is another ludicrous tale of a young boy who is afraid of gorillas and imagines one hiding under the kitchen cupboard. Finally, ``The Springing Granny'' is a lighthearted verse about a woman who, in winter, creates her own tropical paradise until spring returns. Slight and contrived as these five pieces are, children who have mastered beginning readers may be tickled by the inventive words and zany situations. Sketchy line drawings in black-and-white look amateurish, but capture the craziness of the stories. Not a priority purchase, but harmless fun. --Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY

Kirkus Reviews

Mabel blows a bubble that envelops her baby brother, gently wafting him all over the village, causing shock and excitement among the population. Chrysta and Greville Gribble, Tybal and his mother Sybil, the crabby Copples, feeble Mrs. Treeble and Canon Dapple come up with an improbable plan to catch the bubbled baby. Meanwhile, mischievous rebel Abel bursts the bubble with his slingshot and the villagers gallantly come to the rescue by catching him in a quilt. The action moves with breathless frenzy. Mahy is a master at creating verse that is as light and airy as the baby's bubble. Filled with lovely Briticisms, alliterative nonsense words, double, triple and internal rhymes, it's meant to be read aloud-"Again!"-and will lead both breathless readers and listeners to delighted giggles. The text floats across the pages in waves and arcs, and Dunbar's joyous watercolor-and-cut-paper illustrations are wonderfully expressive, a visual treat moving apace with the text. A frothy, effervescent gift. (Picture book. 4-8)