Mr. Gumpy's Outing

If you’ve ever given children clear guidelines for success and then watched them ignore those guidelines and end in a mess…you might resonate with this book! Mr. Gumpy allows the children, the cow, the dog, the sheep, the goat, etc. onto his boat as long as they understand they may not squabble and tease and the bleat and trample. Inevitably, squabbling and teasing and bleating and trampling ensure! I love how this book explores cause and effect and encourages children to start foreseeing consequences, cleary and gently. Mr. Gumpy calmly handles the overturning of the boat and after they’re home and dry, kindly invites them to try again another day.

If you’ve ever given children clear guidelines for success and then watched them ignore those guidelines and end in a mess…you might resonate with this book! Mr. Gumpy allows the children, the cow, the dog, the sheep, the goat, etc. onto his boat as long as they understand they may not squabble and tease and the bleat and trample. Inevitably, squabbling and teasing and bleating and trampling ensure! I love how this book explores cause and effect and encourages children to start foreseeing consequences, cleary and gently. Mr. Gumpy calmly handles the overturning of the boat and after they’re home and dry, kindly invites them to try again another day.

When Mr. Gumpy goes out on the river one day, a series of passengers - two children, a rabbit, cat, dog, pig, sheep, some chickens, a calf and a goat - ask to join him on his outing. Our eponymous hero grants each request, with the proviso that each child or animal must behave. Although peaceful at first, Mr. Gumpy's crowded boat eventually overturns when its passengers forget their promise. Despite that fact, Mr. Gumpy invites them on an outing another day...

Originally published in the UK in 1970, Mr. Gumpy's Outing was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal - named for celebrated illustrator Kate Greenaway, this medal is Britain's preeminent award for illustrations in a children's book - and is considered a modern classic in the show more picture-book category. Being more familiar with Burningham's more recent titles, I was surprised and charmed to find that the artwork here is a little bolder, with more use of color than in books like Picnic or Motor Miles. Overall I liked the effect of the illustrations, and also appreciated the use of language here, as Mr. Gumpy issues his strictures to his passengers. The children must not squabble, the pig must not muck about, the sheep must not bleat, and so on, introducing younger children to vocabulary that might otherwise be unfamiliar to them. Recommended to anyone looking for engaging stories for the picture-book set! show less

We have one copy in English and one in French, because this book is too good not to enjoy in both the official languages of Canada. The inevitable denouement when all Mr Gumpy's passengers, although forewarned, behave according to their innate nature and capsize the boat is something that little ones might expect, because similar disasters so often happen to them. But the walk home across the fields followed by a friendly and plentiful meal reassures everyone that one mistake (apiece) doesn't mean that the day is ruined. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing.

A humorous and foretelling story. As Mr Gumpy boats along picking up tag alongs and giving them the conditions for their ride, we can see clearly where it's all going....and it won't end well. This is a great book for teaching children to follow directions.

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing, by John Burningham. Little Greats edition, 1970.

The illustrations in this work are of an impressionistic, sketchy style but the people and objects that correspond to the text are isolated well. On one side of the spread the text is followed by a brown sketch and on the other side a vibrant picture. Some of the pages include both text and picture – as with the first, while some offer only illustration – as with the last page. Mr. Gumpy is almost always looking at the reader, but as everyone is brought under the same circumstances at the end, Mr. Gumpy looks more to the other characters, as if a relationship between them has formed.
The story is cumulative, with each alternating page showing the next person or show more animal to go with Mr. Gumpy on his outing in his boat. Mr. Gumpy has many directions to his passengers, and these are all repeated at the climax of the tale.
Gumpy is an interesting name and I couldn’t help but think that the subtle persistent tone of the man providing every one with a rule (a don’t) made the connection between Gumpy and Grumpy enter into the mind. It seemed the author was molding an expectation or assumption as a way to force the question ‘Why isn’t Mr. Gumpy grumpy?’ and create a model to admire despite a text void of character development.
The illustrations may be difficult for very young children, but the text is probably perfect – though not very musical, a range of voices can be displayed to create excitement around each character. Older children may find the text too sparse.
The book has a very clear beginning, middle, and end. The unity of a journey or outing being associated with reading time is paralleled with the difficulty of sharing that journey with some rambunctious children and offers an opportunity to put that moment into a figurative space of great concision and vibrant colours. show less

A delightful story about an ever expanding group of travelers and a seemingly grumpy man. All is well that ends well and this story has a simple gentleness. The artwork is a combination of tightly woven pencil hash marks and full color painting. Unique textures and a simple story make this a perfect read aloud book.