View source for Trumpety Trump by Steve Smallman and Adria Meserve

{{infobox2
|title=Trumpety Trump
|author=Steve Smallman and Adria Meserve
|reviewer=Margaret Young
|genre=For Sharing
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1407121819
|pages=32
|publisher=Scholastic
|date=June 2013
|aznuk=1407121812
|aznus=1407121812
|cover=1407121812
|website=http://www.contactanauthor.co.uk/authorpage.php?id=366
|video=
|summary=A raucously fun story for children who find farting and bottoms amusing.
}}
Two subjects guaranteed to have any nursery age child in stitches are bums and farts. This book has plenty of both, along with some other very rude behaviour which will have children begging to hear this again and again. Although the book reads like a non stop riot of rude and raucous behaviour, it does teach children about friendship and manners as well. Adults will appreciate the moral to the story, but children will be so busy laughing, they'll hardly notice that they are learning at the same time.

This is the story of little elephant who loves making trumpeting sounds - from both ends. In addition to this he is terribly rude. He doesn't mean to be bad, but he never thinks of anyone else. He charges about with no care for the smaller creatures. He belly flops into the pool drenching the other animals. He chooses a tree full of monkeys to scratch his bottom on, and ends up knocking the monkeys down in the process. When he smashes mouse's house, the other animals have had enough, but the elephant doesn't want to be a scary, nuisance. He endeavours to change his behaviour and makes new friends in the process. Of course he still trumpets, that is what elephants do. He still farts as well, but as my son pointed out, perhaps he really couldn't help that.

This is told in a rhyming text which has a very pleasant rhythm. Rhyming books are essential to developing phonemic awareness and emergent literacy, but when written like this book, they also make the story have a lovely cadence as well. The illustrations are very bright and colourful with wonderful expression on the animal's faces. The illustrations so perfectly match the text that a child could get a grasp of the story from pictures alone, making this book ideal for children to enjoy on their own as well, even if they have not started to read yet. Many of the pages are full of life with a wide variety of jungle animals, but they never appear too busy or overcrowded. In spite of all the wonderful features to these illustrations, there is one factor that my son clearly enjoys the most - rudeness. He loves the picture of the elephant scratching its bum, but his favourites of all show a large noxious looking cloud of green gas emerging from the elephant's backside.

If this book appeals then you might also enjoy:

[[Chick by Ed Vere]]

[[No-Bot, The Robot With No Bottom by Sue Hendra]]

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[[Category:Steve Smallman]]
[[Category:Adria Meserve]]
[[Category:Children's Rhymes and Verse]]