The Bespectacled Mother

Bumpus Jumpus Dinosaurumpus

There is a quake and a quiver 

And a rumbling around

It makes you shiver

Its a thundery sound

The opening lines of the book ‘Bumpus Jumpus Dinosaurumpus’.

This story is being told by 2 terrified mice who are witnessing the arrival of dinosaurs near a swamp. But 3rd  page onwards, as the dinosaurs start appearing the mood turns happy happy for the mice as well as for Dhruv. The poetic lines and rhythmic words makes the story sing-song like.

Donk Donk Donk

here’s Triceratops

jumping up and down

doing dinosaur hops

These lines along with an illustration of a cute little Triceratops with three horns look very appealing to Dhruv. Words like donk donk, bomp bomp, thwack thwack,  eeeeeek, clatter clatter, rattle rattle and zoom zoom have found place into Dhruv’s vocab bank. I am amazed to notice his ability, at the age of 3,  to clearly repeat and pronounce the long and complicated names of the dinosaurs – Triceratops,  Brontosaurus, Deinosuchus, Stegosaurus and Styracosaurus.

But his favourite is Tyrannosaurus Rex which appears in the middle of the story with a loud Roar when all the other dinosaurs are busy romping. The roar is very loud and frightens the romping dinosaurs and the mice too. When Rex jumps from behind the trees all others run away for their lives to realise later that Rex also wants to join in the romp by the swamp.

The story once again turns light and happy with the new entrant waving his hands madly and going bomp bomp bomp with his feet. The mice then get assured that there is no risk to their lives from the big and huge dinosaurs and they just want to holler up a ‘Dinosaurumpus’. The rumpus leaves the dinosaurs tired and sleepy and they all fall asleep in a big heap against the huge Blue rock like Brontosaurus with the sounds zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz filling up the atmosphere.

Bumpus Jumpus Dinosaurumpus is a hugely entertaining book. It works as a bedtime book since the dinosaurs drift off to sleep after the whole rolla rappa and so we say Good Night to the dinosaurs and to each other as well.