Bubble Trouble board book

This book is irresistible -- you can't help reading it aloud, over and over. It has a fabulous rhythm to it, especially with rhymes embedded throughout the sentences (not just at the ends). Plus Margaret Mahy's usual sense of mischief. We found it at the library but will be buying a copy.

My goodness, this was the MOST challenging but definately one of the most fun books I've ever read to my daughters. It is such a clever story and the tongue-twisting sentences made us giggle throughout the entire book. I am sooo impressed and would give it a higher rating if I could.

I'm Auntie Red through the local library only at the preschool behind my home, reading once a week, getting to indulge in my love for children's books, getting a kid fix since all 6 grandkids are out of state. I don't remember how I tripped on this new book, but LOVE the words and the pictures and so looking forward to the delight on their faces.

Mabel was sitting at the table blowing bubbles. The kitty was sitting on the table watching the baby and the baby was watching the kitty. All of a sudden one of those bubbles was a lot of "bubble trouble in a bibble-bobble way." It floated across the table and bobbled her baby brother and "wafted him away!" Oh, my . . . Mabel and the kitty were in hot pursuit of the baby in the bubble and when she called to her mother the alarm was on. "At the sudden call of trouble, Mother took off at the double, for the squealing left her reeling, made her terrified and tense, saw the bubble for a minute, with the baby bobbing in it, as it bibbled by the letterbox and bobbed across the fence." As the baby bibble-bobbled over the town people began to panic and joined in the chase. Chrysta and Greville, Tybal and Sybil, Mr. Copple and the Mrs. ("a crabby couple") Mrs. Threeble with her needle were on the run lest the "bubble burst and vanish in the sky." It was a real "flum-a-diddle," and no one knew quite what to do, but then there was rascally Abel with his slingshot. Oh, no! What would happen if he burst the bubble? This is one of those superb, exuberant books that only comes around once in a great while. It is an all-around pleaser that both children and adults will marvel over it. The art work meshes perfectly and captures the excitement of the chase. Much of the text swirls up and down following the bibble-bobble path the baby is taking. If you are an expressive reader, your young audience will be rapt with excitement when you read this story in rhyme! This is the Boston Globe Horn Book Award Winner for 2009.

I just picked up Bubble Trouble from the library because I'm a big fan of Margaret Mahy, and wanted to see her latest book. As I started to read it, I realized by the fourth page it absolutely had to be read out loud. So I sat on my couch (all by myself) and read it out loud. It is such a fun read, although I highly recommend finding a youngster to laugh along with you. The story begins with Little Mabel blowing bubbles across the table. They bobble over to her baby brother and take him away. From there the baby in the bubble floats around the house, outside into the garden, in the neighborhood and down to the shops. All the while, the baby in the bubble is "wibble-wobbling" away. Mahy is from New Zealand, and it shows in her word choice, as well as her character's names (Sybil, Tybal, Mabel). Here's a sample page: At the sudden cry of trouble, Mother took off at the double, for the squealing left her reeling, made her terrified and tense, saw the bubble for a minute, with the baby bobbing in it, as it bibbled by the letterbox and bobbed across the fence. As you can see, it's a bit of a tongue twister, which I imagine gets easier to read the second or third time around. My kids would have loved this book when they were younger and I think kids will want to read it over and over again. Polly Dunbar's watercolor and paper-cut illustrations are charming and whimsical (and remind me a bit of John Birmingham's illustrations).