Mr. Gumpy’s Outing by John Burningham is a classic children’s picture book. My own children laughed with every reading. The book won the 1971 ALA Notable Children’s Book award, the 1972 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 1971, and the 1970 Kate Greenaway Medal.
Mr. Gumpy is an English gentleman. He owns a boat, and his house is by a river. One day he goes out in his boat. A boy and girl ask if they can come for a ride. Mr. Gumpy says they can, as long as they don’t squabble. A rabbit wants to come too. Mr. Gumpy grants permission, as long as the rabbit doesn’t hop about. A cat promises not to chase the rabbit. A dog promises not to tease the cat. And so on. The boat travels along picking up more and more animals. Each one is told how to behave.
Each child and animal does behave, until the boat is very full. But then the goat kicks, the calf tramples, the chickens flap about, the dog teases the cat, the cat chases the rabbit, the rabbit hops, and the children squabble and the boat tips. And into the water they all fall. Not to worry though, they all swim ashore and climb out to dry in the hot sun. A not angry at all Mr. Gumpy announces that they can walk home across the fields because it’s time for tea. The illustration shows Mr. Gumpy, the children, and the animals all walking across a meadow. The next page has no text but shows them all enjoying cake, sandwiches, and tea. And on the last page, Mr. Gumpy tells them goodbye and to come for a ride another day.
The words have a nice lulling repetition. It’s a gentle book with soothing illustrations, even though everyone does get dumped into the water. As I said, my own children laughed every time we read the story. We could just picture a boat full of misbehaving creatures.
For More Classic Picture Books See:
The Three Pigs – David Weisner
Tops & Bottoms – Janet Stevens