Richard Scarry's Be Careful, Mr. Frumble!

by Richard Scarry

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. The wind has blown away the hat of Richard Scarry's beloved, bumbling Mr. Frumble--and now he's in hot pursuit. With chaos and humor at every turn, this Step into Reading Step 2 book will have readers laughing and shouting, ""BE CAREFUL, MR. FRUMBLE!"" Unavailable for nearly ten years, this super-simple, super-silly story is back in a new early-reader format, to provide amusement while supporting children's burgeoning reading skills. Step 2 Readers use basic vocabulary and short sentences to tell simple stories. For children who recognize familiar words and can sound out new words with help.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Humor

32 pages, Library Binding

First published September 19, 1990

About the author

RICHARD SCARRY is one of the world's best-loved children's authors EVER! In his extraordinary career, Scarry illustrated over 150 books, many of which have never been out of print. His books have sold over 100 million copies around the world, and are currently published in over twenty languages. No other illustrator has shown such a lively interest in the words and concepts of early childhood. Richard Scarry was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators in 2012.

Reviews

[Jason Koivu · Rating 3 out of 5]

* * * Read and Reviewed by Me & My Niece Emma * * *

I am on a mission to bring the joy of Richard Scarry to my niece. I am determined that one day she will love his work as much as I did as a kid.

I've got a couple things holding me back though. One is the quality differential of illustrated books from my era to today. When I was a kid we had the simple line drawings of Shel Silverstein and we liked it...HELL, WE LOVED IT! We were lucky to have them and we cherished them, damn it! Today the kids have books based on Pixar movies that contain the same 3D, realistically shadowed, professionally rendered, and highly life-like cartoon characters. It's tough to compete with that.

The other issue is Scarry himself. Not necessarily his unfortunate name, which gave me pause as a child, but rather the books themselves. I've picked up two from the library for Emma so far, just what was available at that branch. One was a turd and this one wasn't much better.

Be Careful, Mr. Frumble is about a messy pig who gets his hat blown away by the wind. He spends the whole book chasing after it. He races by bug-eyed anthropomorphic neighbors, by Swiss Alps scenery, alongside a World War I German fighter pilot, through a town, over water, etc. It's quite the long chase, but it's also redundant and not that thrilling. Emma was pressing me on, pushing me to turn the next page. I read at a frantic, excited pace and part of her wanted to see what was next and part of her wanted to finish the thing.

Come on, Scarry, help me out here!

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

In true Richard Scarry fashion, Mr. Frumble has trouble hanging on to his hat on a windy day. This book worked well as a great aloud, but would also work as a 1 on 1 so that children would be able to see all of the fun things that RS includes in his illustrations. It was the perfect April windy day to share this fun book.

[Ame · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part of any Richard Scarry book are the NPCs hanging out in the background, STARING at you.

I see you, random bug in a car. I see you watching me, JUDGING me.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/12/17 Naomi & I read to Julia.
11/27/17 Read with Julia.
1/12/23 Read with Julia

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frank really enjoys most Richard Scarry stories, and this one was not exception.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Oh no!” That’s what I call this book. I love helping my Mama and Tato find Mr Frumble’s hat. Mama always makes blowing sounds because it’s windy. Tato loves the ending because it shows that a bad day for some people isn’t for someone like Mr Frumble.

[Greg S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for Mr. Scarry.

It’s one of those cute books that things are happening in the front and background. The language is simple and my six year old read it to me.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Mr. Frumble, we love you.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Richard Scarry and the illustrations. This was an entertaining story.

Read for LIS 5564 Info Needs of Children, FSU Spring 2017

[Yesenia MR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Fumble is going for a walk when his fat is taken by the wind all across town. Throughout the story, the hat is being blown from place to place. Mr. Fumble finally gets his hat after following the hat through different obstacles in the different parts of town.
This is a good book to talk about community members and what they do.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Frumble chases his hat around Busytown.