Tumford's Rude Noises

July 16, 2012
In this follow-up to Tumford the Terrible, Tillman’s misbehaving kitten has a new pastime: “Face in his bowl, he blew bubbles and slurped./ Eating his sweet roll, he giggled and burped.” And when visitors stop by, Tumford does something even worse (it’s rendered with random
typographical marks emanating from Tumford’s rear end). Tillman asks readers to help reform Tumford (“Whisper these words in Tum’s ear if you would..../ ‘Tumford... not all attention is good’ ”), then assures them their advice has been taken (“Now, there was no need for Tum’s folks to scold him./ He’d learned his lesson... you’d already told him!”). Tillman’s digitally rendered illustrations are both endearingly fuzzy and madly stylish, with red spike heels for Tumford’s human mother and her friends, retro cat toys, and baby animals wearing wee bandannas just like Tumford’s. The kitten’s winning expressions—he looks like a talented child actor who just happens to be zipped into a cat suit—and the surefire device of impolite body noises make this sequel even more of a draw than the original. Ages 4–6. Agent: Cathy Hemming, Cathy Hemming Literary Agency.

July 1, 2012
Kitty cat (and human boy stand-in) Tumford Stoutt learns a lesson about rude noises. This Tuesday, Sweet Apple Green is in for a ruckus. Tum beats his drum. He makes bubbles in his dish. He burps and giggles at the table. His parents aren't pleased, but Tum doesn't care. He likes the attention. Then in front of the Sweet Apple Guild, Tum does the unforgivable: toots the patootie trumpet. Mom and Dad put him in timeout. With a little help from readers, Tum learns not all attention is good. Tumford's second didactic tale suffers many of the same problems of his first. Thankfully, his strange and disturbing clothes are gone (save for a bandanna). However, the equally distressing, clunky, forced-rhyme verse is still in evidence, as well as the previous book's illogic. Young audiences will scratch their heads over Tum eating from a bowl on the floor and then a plate at the table. Their parents will wonder why the lesson isn't "don't be rude" or "apologize for rudeness" (which we thought we learned in Tumford the Terrible, 2011), but is instead: Public displays of gas lead to punishment. Tillman's precious illustrations mesh better with her treacly, sentiment-laden titles than with this practical lesson in etiquette. Well-intentioned, though not well-thought-through. Tum's not worth your time. (Picture book. 3-6)

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September 1, 2012

PreS-As in Tumford the Terrible (Feiwel & Friends, 2011), the appealingly mischievous cat is causing havoc. His human parents are about to host a party, and he has been making loud and rude noises all day long: beating his drum, slurping his food, burping, and generally trying to get attention. The final straw comes when the guests have arrived and Tumford makes a very rude noise and is banished to time-out. The text invites readers to tell Tumford that not all attention is good, and he reforms himself. The Stoutts reassure him that they love him in spite of everything and promise that he can sometimes be silly in private, so Tum "with a grin mostly sweet and sincere, /made a rude little noise into Georgy's left ear." Tillman's illustrations are wonderful and her black-and-white cat perfection (in looks, not behavior). He looks like a real feline with sometimes human expressions. Readers cannot help but love him just as his parents do: "madly from whiskers to toes." With its special message that even those who misbehave will still be loved, this book will surely entertain and reassure all the little Tumfords out there-cats and toddlers! Not to be missed.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2012
Preschool-G Tumford Stoutt loves the sound of his (rather loud) voice and revels in all the rude noises his pudgy cat body can make. While his parents generally tolerate his silly and attention-seeking behavior, Tumford chooses the wrong day to demonstrate his flatulence talents when he lets one rip in the middle of the Sweet Apple Guild meeting. A time-out and a little soul-searching helps the remorseful Tumford realize that while perfect behavior is not expected at all times, knowing how to act in public most definitely is. Though Tumford might be ill-mannered, he is no Rotten Ralph. The final line of text the Stoutts loved him madly from whiskers to toes / just like I love you / as everyone knows switches the focus of the story to the listener, thereby reinforcing the subtext that naughty children are still beloved. The photo-collage illustrations are large and expressivemuch like Tumfordand will tug on heartstrings and amuse in equal measure. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Tillman is the New York Times best-selling author of On the Night You Were Born (2006), and her first book about Tumford, Tumford the Terrible, was named an Amazon Top 10 Picture Book of 2011.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)