Tumford the Terrible

I've been a fan of Nancy Tillman since I came across  On the Night You Were Born  while browsing at my local bookstore. Its celebration of the uniqueness of every child, told in lovely language, has made it the gift I choose most often for expectant or adoptive parents. I also share it regularly with my own grandchildren and talk with them about how special they are. Tillman feels that the most important message for children to receive is simply, "You are loved." That message is core to my other favorite from Tillman's published works,  Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You . It its pages, children are assured that, no matter how far from home they go or what they do, they will be loved.In Tumford the Terrible, Tillman goes in a slightly different direction. The message of unconditional love remains, but the story is more humorous, focusing on Tumford Stoutt, the beloved cat of Georgy and Violet Stoutt. Tumford seems to possess a certain carelessness - or perhaps he simply jumps into situations without considering the consequences. Either way, a trail of muddy footprints, broken dishes and spilled paint are likely to follow in his wake. The mishaps can't shake Georgy and Violet's love for their cat (because "love isn't measured in muddy galoshes or broken tea dishes or trampled-on squashes. No, love is a thing that just happens, you see... like the way I love you and the way you love me"). But the Stoutts are saddened by Tummy's inability to apologize when his actions cause destruction of one sort or another. Tummy would rather hide than say he's sorry - that most difficult word. The Stoutts hope that a special treat, offered on the condition that Tummy promises to apologize should the need arise, may get him past his inability to face the music. Tummy gives his promise, but will he keep it?Tumford the Terrible is a sweet story told in rhyming verse that many young children may identify with. (My guess is that there are plenty of adults that will identify with Tumford as well.) :-) Apologizing can be difficult and there are many people who try to avoid it when possible. But learning to accept responsibility for one's actions or to tell someone you've wronged that you regret your actions is an important lesson. In Tumford the Terrible, Tillman remembers to assure readers that love remains, even when behavior is less than perfect. And making certain that children understand that as well is even more important.As always, Tillman's lovely artwork is as appealing as her words, making the book a visual pleasure for children and adults. My favorite pieces in Tumford the Terrible are those showing the large black and white cat hiding among teddy bears on a bedroom shelf and strutting to town in his yellow boots.Nancy Tillman continues to create books that I absolutely love having in my collection. Sharing them with my grandchildren and enjoying them on my own is sheer joy.Very highly recommended.

I've bought several books by Nancy Tillman and this did not disappoint. Very very cute book! My 5 year old loves it.

We received one Tillman book as a gift for toddler and loved it so much we ordered a few more. This one is a wonderful story for children of recognizing mistakes and apologizing for them. This title is a bit different from other Tillman books in that there isn't any filler, which is a good thing! Highly recommend Tumford along with any other Tillman book for your little ones!

My 22 month old loves this book! She loves it so much that when a spill caused damage to a page, she fussed so much I had to buy a second copy! This is a medium sized board book, easy for a toddler to handle. The story line is about a cat who refuses to say "I'm sorry" but learns that you're still loved when you do things wrong, and that saying I'm sorry can actually make you feel good! It has a rhyming verse that is fun to read aloud and lovely art, as is typical of Nancy Tillman children's books. I strongly recommend this book for toddlers. It is not one of the typical standards that everyone already owns (unless they are a Nancy Tillman fan) so it also makes a fantastic gift when you're worried about duplications.

This is my absolute favorite Nancy Tillman book! The illustrations are darling (we actually got one page in a poster form and framed for my daughter’s room) and the story is so sweet and a great lesson. I love the rhymes and Tumford is the cutest! My kids are 1 and 5 and both love the story and “Tummy”!

We bought this book for our 1.5 yr old who loves kittens and is very strong-willed! I love the lesson this book teaches, when he’s a bit older it will be great to teach him more about apologizing :)

Not as good as the other Tillman books. I love love her work just not as big of a fan of this one.

I adore reading this book, as does my 20-month old daughter. It has Nancy Tillman's signature sentimentality, but is quite a bit more lively and has a really great story line (which is a change for her... many of her other books are basically an ode to the parent/child bond and not much more.) The rhyming scheme is great and makes it a fun read for the parents as well as the kid... it kind of reminds me of my all-time favorite kids author, Shel Silverstein.

I really like this story and so does my 3 year old who, like Tumford Stout, often finds it difficult to say sorry! The illustrations are quirky and charming.

My 3 year old loves this witty, beautifully illustrated story of Tumford. We love nancy Tillmans books and this is definitely one of her best. Tumford is such a loveable cat character!

My grand-children love reading and listening to Nancy Tillman stories. They always have a really good story with a hidden meaning.

fabulous

I didn’t love the message behind the story.The message is that he should apologize for his actions to make his owners happy rather than because he actually FEELS sorry about the things that he does. Eek