The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant

by Mona K., Korey Scott (Illustrator)

This is a story about a grouchy croissant who is angry with his friends.
He uses the mindful magic of breath to get his butter back.

Genres: Childrens

36 pages, Hardcover

Published November 17, 2020

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant is a children's picture book about breakfast foods that are friends. One morning Croissant can't get onto the plate because Toast and Scone all taking up all the room. Croissant has a complete melt down (tantrum) and shrinks. Milk intervenes and shows them how to control their anger and frustrations by having a sip of milk then breathing in and out whilst counting to ten.
This book is a great concept for teaching children how to control emotional outbursts but I felt it was a little rushed together and needed more to it than what it contained.

[Shannon Miz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

I read this book with my son, twice so far. He asked for a reread, so that automatically means he liked the book. He was absolutely tickled by a Croissant being grumpy, and enjoyed the idea of milk calming everyone down. It's short enough that it holds his interest, which is no easy task lately, too! He wanted to rate it as well, and he gives it 4 stars!

I enjoyed some of the parts of the book, while I felt a few things were lacking. On the positive side, I did like that the author brought up anger, and even included a helpful solution to calm oneself down instead of fighting and holding onto the anger. I also loved that there were some fun activities included in the book, like coloring pages, and a croissant recipe. Even better, my son now wishes to try all the breakfast foods (he is quite picky!) so that is a huge win.

On the downside, I do wish that the book was just a bit longer perhaps? I felt like a page or two of the characters actually communicating about their anger would have really enhanced both the story and the message. Because while it's good that everyone calmed down, I felt like they needed to talk about their feelings, especially since Croissant was kind of mean to his friends because of it. (Also, I will say, as an adult it was a bit unsettling that they were going to be... presumably eaten? My son didn't seem to have a problem with it though!)

Overall, it was a cute story with good art that amused and entertained my son, so I would recommend it!

**Copy provided for review

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story shares what happens when Scone and Toast don’t leave enough room on the plate for Croissant. Croissant gets very grumpy and his friends get upset. Their friend Milk intervenes and has them all take a sip of milk and breath while counting to ten. The book also contains coloring pages and a recipe for Croissants.

Now the Royals loved the colorful illustrations and breathed right along with the breakfast friends. Sophia, (six years old) interjected with reactions such as, “Why doesn’t he ask his friends to move?” and “he should take a time out.” Clayton, (four years old) just nodded his head. Both asked for me to read it again.

The illustrations were colorful and silly. They told the story through visuals that the children enjoyed. They like the Veggie Tales so they didn’t even question food talking or being friends.

While the Royals loved the book and received the simple message of dealing with frustrations and talking things through, I struggled with a few things.

I felt the opening sentence was awkward, something about on a kitchen table in a kitchen. It should have read on a table in a kitchen.

I appreciated the breathing technique that milk suggested, but the whole drinking their friend seemed weird, but hey it’s animated food.

Ok, now the last one the booklover in me. The coloring pages in the back were awesome…however, the pages weren’t perforated and the idea of allowing the children to color in an actual book freaked me out.

While not my favorite story, the children enjoyed it and were engaged. This allowed for conversation about dealing with anger.

*I was compensated for this review by Red Clover Digital. All opinions are my own. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Tressa (Wishful Endings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE GRUMPY FRUMPY CROISSANT is a story about a croissant who is a bit grumpy. There is an argument about the space on a plate and the croissant feels unimportant which makes him grumpy. The book has illustrations that children will find entertaining. The story teaches about being aware of others and being kind instead of grumpy in an engaging way with easy-to-read, short sentences. My ten-year-old daughter enjoyed reading it after the cover caught her attention. There are also coloring pages in the back, which I thought was a really fun idea. An overall quirky, enjoyable book to have on children’s shelves.

Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy through DartFrog Books, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of breakfast items that live happily together until one morning croissant wakes up not being picked first and having a grumpy morning.

Milk helps them through crisis management with scone and toast and after resolving their conflicts by talking it out. 

I read this to my 3 and 6 year old and they enjoyed the illustrations throughout of the characters and their interactions. They enjoyed counting along while croissant was calming down and learning to communicate instead of keeping feelings inside because in this case no one intended to hurt him. And as it is in school or in families people say or do things and it may be taken offensively,  so learning to use your words to say you don't like the way things are said or done is always a good lesson. Just learning how to voice your emotions is good practice!

They were excited about the croissant recipe at the end of the book, since they love croissants and they love to bake. They wanted to tear out the coloring pages that were after that and were fighting over them. Well cause coloring is their favorite and despite my training still don't understand we don't rip book pages. 🥺

We enjoyed this book since we do need lessons in how to handle overwhelming emotions. This is a hard time for all of us and especially since she loves the subject matter (croissants!) she will read it again! ❤️🥐

Thank you Red Clover Digital for providing me a copy for my honest and voluntary review.

[Lindsi (Do You Dog-ear?) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Red Clover Digital in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm really glad I read The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant on my own and not with my kids. This book was ridiculously impractical and failed to covey anything even remotely similar to a story. The only thing I liked about this book - and why it received two stars on Goodreads instead of one - were the coloring pages included at the end. I think it's great when books have activities for children (this one also contained a recipe for croissants), and believe they have the potential to solidify the information shared within a book.

Why was this book nonsensical? Because it implied that the characters (Croissant, Toast & Scone) were repeatedly placed on a plate - like it was their daily routine or something - which simply wasn't feasible. Croissant starts acting angry and "grumpy" when Toast and Scone are plated first, which left him hanging off the edge. Uh, hello? Does anyone else know how food works? Once food is on a plate, it's usually consumed or tossed in the garbage. There is no do over the next day, especially not with the same items (unless they were leftovers and reheated). The story implied that this was what the characters did every day, which felt a little morbid since they should've been eaten and killed off based on their setting and what they were. If the author had chosen a different setting, maybe I could have suspended my disbelief, but a plate really didn't work for this book.

I also didn't like how Croissant's anger was addressed. It felt like the breathing techniques they used were tossed in to make this book seem more informative than it actually was. Yes, breathing is important when you're angry, but it wasn't something the author explained. They simply said you should "drink milk and breathe," whenever you're feeling upset. Also, Milk was one of their friends, so it was super weird that they were drinking him. It's not like he has a limitless supply of himself at his disposal. It felt slightly cannibalistic, to be honest.

The illustrations were also somewhat suggestive, and I really hope that wasn't intentional. Croissant leaking his "butter" and the flow of Milk's "milk" are two instances that immediately come to mind. (★⋆☆☆☆)

*I received compensation for my review of this book

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Bloglovin' | Amazon | Pinterest

[Paula Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute breakfast story perfect for ages 4-6 years old. The book starts with getting the breakfast ready for the morning, we have our egg, toast, and milk and Mr. Croissant gets angry as there is no room for him to sit comfortably on the plate. He is starting to get very mad hence the title the Grumpy Frumpy Croissant. Soon Mr. Grumpy Frumpy Croissant will learn with the use of milk to learn mindfulness and breathing techniques. This picture book is great for teaching children how to breathe deeply, mindfulness, and using their different emotions complete with beautiful and bright coloured illustrations.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book. Croissant is having a hard day, especially when he has to share a plate with everyone else! His grumpy attitude makes everyone else not great great. When milk makes everyone stop and breathe, the day turns out better. I love how it teaches kids to take the time to breathe when they are frustrated. This book would be good for a younger classroom

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A picture book with a suitable moral, well expressed, of how to defuse a petty argument, but one that could have been better. Just take the first lines of text – our characters "are all good friends. They all lived together on a kitchen table in the kitchen". Now (a) where else is a kitchen table supposed to be, and (b) can we settle on a past or present tense, please? (Which is a question I often have to demand of myself when I look back at my reviews, so this really is pot/kettle/black time, I know, but I'm not between two permanent covers waiting for people to pay to read me.) Beyond that we get the ridiculous spat, and the way out of the problems it causes, which looks a bit cannibalistic in this scenario but we'll let that slide. A family-friendly recipe and colouring-in pages close out to make us feel better about the opening lines, which all told are about the only flaws in this read. So I was left not wishing failure on this book, whatsoever, but with the feeling I'd been forced to point out how it doesn't give itself the greatest chance at success at times.

[Vera Godley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of a far fetched tale of bready items at the breakfast table that is illustrated with quirky, cartoony characters. The grumpy episode begins when Croissant comes to the table unhappy, and from then on nothing suits.

Typical early morning scene in many homes? Perhaps. But like I said, a bit far fetched. I don't see the symbolism where angry grumpy frumpy croissant loses his butter dwindling down in size. I don't see the symbolism of everyone taking a slurp of milk to help them calm down.

I do like the take a deep breath and count to 10 technique to facilitate calmness and patience.

All in all, an ok book but not a favorite of mine.

I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

[Martisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute and good artwork.. I do wish it was a little longer but like I said I enjoyed it. A good read for kids .

[Westveil Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was granted complimentary access to The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant by Mona K & Korey Scott through the publisher, Canoe Tree Press, in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant is the story of breakfast food characters arguing about who is being mean to who (Croissant is hangry) and milk mediates. The end of the book features an illustrated recipe for croissants, which looks tasty, and a few black and white line art pages which seem to be meant for colouring. While I'm not overly taken by the story in execution, the concept and the bonus materials are great and the art is cute.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahem, I love the actual recipe given towards the end of the book. It will work quite well for this Christmas!

This story picture book will give you a good idea of when kids have a meltdown. Yes, exactly what you're thinking!

And yes, it's trying to tell how to calm down this situation. But I am not sure if toddlers would actually listen when we tell them to take deep breaths and eat or drink calmly in such situations.

Love the illustrations. They look yummy!

Thank you, authors and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

[Leslie]

The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant is such a cute book that teaches kids about anger and a way on how to deal with it. The illustrations were fun and helped make the book a delight to read. I liked the recipes and coloring sheets at the end of the book. This would be a great book to help teach children social skills and anger. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher the opportunity to read this book. (This review is also on GoodReads.)

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was definitely cute, and the illustrations were spectacular! So vivid and pretty! Great pick on the illustrator. 

I read this book with my 6-year-old son and we enjoyed the overall story with the different breakfast characters and their struggle with tempers. And it helped that he was able to read most of the words!

The story is about a croissant that gets grumpy and upset at his fellow breakfast foods, and how their friend Milk helped them practice calming down techniques. I do wish it went into a bit more detail about them talking about why they were mad, and maybe said "I'm sorry," but even teaching kids how to slow down and calm their bodies is important.

If you don't stop to think about it as an adult, it's a great little story to show kids that anyone can have tantrums sometimes and how to help yourself and others calm down.  But if you think about it a little too deeply, the premise becomes a tad awkward when you think about these friends getting consumed as food and drink. But if you think of it from a child's perspective (as the book is intended for), it is just as easily dramatic/pretend play with kitchen and food items.

I loved that the book comes with a recipe where you can learn to make your own croissant, and even coloring pages for kids to print out and enjoy.

[Larissa Hinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This picture book was too adorable not to like. The drawings were cute and the story very cut and dry. The croissant was having a bad day and instead of expressing his thoughts he bottled them up inside. I think the author did a great job of showing kids how to express their anger in an appropriate way and how to communicate effectively. I think the only thing was they showed two ways, but should have shown more. Maybe even touched on the fact that he should have talked about it instead of bottling up his emotions.

Overall, if my niece was having a bad day, this would be a great book to use to start the conversation.

[Brittney Hafner · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Dealing with Anger, Young Children (Ages 2-6)

The cute characters, Milk, Toast, Scone, and Croissant teaches children how to manage anger. The characters are put in a situation where Toast, Scone, and Croissant are feeling angry until Milk shows them a trick to use.

Not only does the story give value to this book, but you are also given a recipe on how to make homemade croissants (I’m a huge croissant fan) along with a few coloring pages (which can also be found on Mona’s webpage).

* I received and voluntarily read an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[AnneKR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cute, fun-illustrated book is about how one morning Croissant ends up angry at his friends, Toast and Scone, which in turn causes their happy mood to quickly become sour. Milk intervenes and shows the friends how to take ten deep breaths to calm down.

I read this with my five year old daughter. The bright, colorful illustrations held her attention and she was able to understand the point of the story. I think maybe in the end Croissant could have apologized to Toast and Scone for his behavior. A nice bonus is a recipe in the back on how to make croissants as well as coloring pages of the characters from the book.

Thank you Netgalley and Canoe Tree Press for the opportunity to read this book.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
I requested this because the description talked about learning to deal with anger, and because I love croissants! 🤣 But it fell a bit flat for me. Croissant was grumpy, not sure where the frumpy comes in, and fought with his friends toast and scone. He also lost butter and shrunk, no idea what that was about. 🤷🏻‍♀️ After their friend milk offers them all a drink of himself 🤨 and teaches them to take deep breaths and count to ten, Croissant feels better and the world is happy again. Just seems a bit weird. My daughter did get the message, and she was excited about a recipe and coloring pages at the end, but the story itself was odd.
#TheGrumpyFrumpyCroissant #NetGalley

[Jill Steeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this imaginative tale by Mona K., Croissant gets mad at his friends because he couldn’t be first and thought there wasn’t room for him. As his anger escalated, his friend quickly became out of sorts too. Fortunately, his friend Milk suggests a technique that calmed everyone. Korey Scott’s colorful cartoon characters are so expressive and make the story come alive.

The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant is perfect for teachers and counselors to share with their early childhood students when talking about big emotions. The book includes a recipe for croissants and several coloring pages of the illustrations in the book.

[Ashton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say, I did not like this book. Not only does it make you feel kind of creepy reading it because they take part in eating each other, But the story itself is just not executed well. It feels rushed and not well thought out. I like the idea of writing a book that teaches children how to deal with their emotions but I feel like it could be done a lot better. While I appreciate the effort, this is not a book I would read to kids or recommend.

Thank you #NetGalley for providing the ARC for me to read in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Sara Strand · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute, and short, story about feeling regulation, mindfulness, and working through problems. I loved the illustrations, the easy recipe at the end to make your own croissants, and the coloring pages at the end. This would make a great classroom read! I would have liked the book to be a little bit longer to hopefully offer more than one technique and include talking our issues out, other than that, definitely a cute little book.

Thank you to DartFrog Books for sending me a complimentary copy.

[Nicola “Shortbookthyme” · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story that actually teaches children to take time to do breathing exercises to to learn how to control their emotions. As a former teacher, this story certainly is a learning tool I would have used in my classroom. Controlling ones emotions is not easy especially to a young child.
I thought the illustrations were great.
Bonus points for the croissant recipe and coloring pages.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Andreea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange of my honest opinion.

Hmm, just no. Very rarely I rate a kids picture book so low, but I felt that this book was inconsistent and without much content to offer the little ones... If the only good thing about it is count to ten when you are angry, then it was not enough or at least not executed properly.

I feel like there was a lot more to add to it - from anger to the resolve. I wasn't into the art either, but I don't think another art style would've helped the story.

[Kalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book follows the very grumpy morning of Croissant. With the help of his friends he figures out why is he so grumpy and learns ways to help him be happier. The illustrations themselves are a little busy, but the heart of the book is good. I especially liked the breathing exercises included at the end. This book would be especially helpful for teachers working with younger students who are still learning to control their emotions.

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little picture book about how to keep one's grumpiness in check. Only takes a few minutes to read with your child.

I do wish that there was a bit more variety to the breakfast plate than just 3 types of bread and pastry plus milk. Maybe add some fruit? Still, it's cute.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in return for an honest opinion.

[Sally Wilsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is good gateway to talk to your children about emotions and ways to take small mindfulness breaths and calm down. Croissant is angry and his friend calms helps calm him down. Illustrations are cute as is the theme of a croissant with friends who are milk, toast and scone. I find this book for children of all ages. Have to use the recipe in the back for a cook day with the Granddaughter.

[StoryTime in The Bookiverse · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids loved this book! The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant is a funny, charming story that helped us talk about big feelings in a light, relatable way. Croissant’s meltdown had us all laughing, and the message about kindness and calming down really stuck. The illustrations are super fun, and it’s become a favorite at storytime. Perfect for little ones learning to manage emotions!

[Donna Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute little picture book about being grumpy and what you should do when you are angry with your friends. There's some counting, a recipe, and coloring sheets too. Read my full review at Girl Who Reads.