Book Descriptions

for Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy and Polly Dunbar

From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

“Little Mabel blew a bubble, and it caused a lot of trouble… Such a lot of bubble trouble in a bibble-bobble way. For it broke away from Mabel as it bobbed across the table, where it bobbled over Baby, and it wafted him away.” This rollicking story first appeared in the United States in Bubble Trouble and Other Poems and Stories (Margaret K. McElderry, 1992). Now it’s a stand-alone picture book guaranteed to twist tongues and delight readers and listeners as it follows the fate of Baby. Floating freely, the bubble-bundled boy is joined by a growing formation of family members and friends who give chase. The pace of Margaret Mahy’s exuberant narrative is exhilarating: Rhyme builds on rhyme with playful twists and turns of language, while alliterative action abounds. Mahy spares no silliness in a story deftly illustrated in this edition by Polly Dunbar. (Ages 4–8)

CCBC Choices 2010. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2010. Used with permission.

From The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)

In rhyming text that is as bubbly as the story it tells, “Little Mabel blew a bubble, and it caused a lot of trouble . . .” (n.p.). Mabel’s bubble bobs and bobbles and wafts Baby away. Baby’s bubbly, bobbling adventure as he travels inside the bubble continues until a pebble from a slingshot bursts the bubble. Not to worry, Mabel and her friends save Baby with a “calculated catch” (n.p.). Dunbar’s humorous illustrations and the rollicking rhythm of the text make this a great read-aloud choice. 2010 USBBY Outstanding International Books List 2010, Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Book. Margaret Mahy re ceived the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Order of New Zealand, the highest honor a citizen can receive. ca

Originally published by Frances Lincoln Great Britain, in 2008.

From the Publisher

Another hilarious rhyming romp from the team who brought us the popular DOWN THE BACK OF THE CHAIR.

When little Mabel's bubble gets away from her, it's her baby brother who gets into trouble. Soon he's floating out of the house, above the fence, and all over town! And it's up to Mabel, Mother, and the rest of the townspeople to get him safely back down. Who knew that so much trouble could come from one little bubble?

Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.