Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy and Polly Dunbar

Readers of this blog might have heard me wax lyrical about Polly Dunbar’s illustrations and how much I simply love them!

What could possibly make me enjoy one of her books more, you may ask? The answer is: by pairing her with the pure genius that is Margaret Mahy.

The opening stanza should be enough to prove my point:

“Little Mabel blew and bubble and it cased 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.”

That, my friends, is just a taste!

“The baby didn’t quibble. He began to smile and dribble,
For he like the wibble-wobble of the bubble in the air.
But Mabel ran for cover and the bubble bobbed above her,
And she shouted out for Mother who was putting up her hair.”

Oh my goodness! If you were here, I’d read you the whole thing just to make sure you’d heard it all! TOO MUCH FUN! This is the type of mastermind brilliance that transcends the picture book genre. I, as an adult (albeit, an immature one) get so much pleasure out of reading this book. You can only imagine the pure joy a child would find in these pages. As I write this review I have to contain my laughter with each turn of the page.

Give yourself over to the delights of such a book. Find it, read it, read it again, then read it to whoever will listen to you, no matter what their age is. You (and they) will not be disappointed by Bubble Trouble!