Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump! by K. L. Going (review)

Two grinning children take a wagon out with a bumpety-bump, toss pebbles in a pond with a dunkety-dunk, and gather berries in a bucket with a plunkety-plunk. Inside, the berries are transformed into pies and the children go dunkety-dunk into the bath before they get in bed for stories (snuggled up in a lumpety-lump). Shin’s illustrations, simple shapes with a block-print feel, evoke the sights, sounds, tastes, and textures of the text’s onomatopoetic rhyme in textured earth tones accented with pops of primary color in the kids’ red wagon and yellow rain boots. The simply drawn characters are expressive in their whole bodies, grinning as they cart berries inside and splash exuberantly in the sink and tub. The ending quiets down as the bumpety, plunkety, glunkety-glunks of play and bathtime give way to the thumpety-thump of heartbeats as the family cuddles up together for storytime. This cozy story is sure to become a bedtime staple, priming little listeners (and adult readers-aloud) for sweet dreams of summer adventures.