Dear Mr. Pike,

As the main story provider and storyteller for the elementary school at which I am employed, I was quite interested in learning more of your tale of Grumpuss, having received an enthusiastic recommendation from a friend who had enjoyed the videocassette version. Your subsequent warm and friendly assistance with my queries concerning school-age relevance and curricula integration led me to further desire bringing Grumpuss to my students.

Having ordered both the video and audiocassette versions of Grumpuss, I was curious to see which formats the children would respond to the best. In our current age of animated films, so many youth are growing up learning of classic tales in the entertainment arena of sight and sound only, and not by thoughtful listening or reading. Although many parents and educators realize that rhyme is a favorite and necessary activity of young children, the current film and book industry seem not to know how to incorporate that into their productions. What I appreciated most about Grumpuss is that you had so obviously inserted your love of story and words into this tale, bringing to life the very essence of quality poetry and plot. Your artful, engaging storytelling ability had my students sitting on the edge of their seats with their ears pricked, not wanting to miss a single point.

I used the video format with a group of ten-year-olds, and they enjoyed the experience immensely. My favorite, though, was allowing my nine-year-old students to listen to the audiocassette, with its great sound effects, while they were permitted to create their own, original illustrations of any part of the story they wished. I do appreciate your graciously providing me with the complete text. This came in very handy as we stopped the tape to review and discuss various sections of Grumpuss, enabling the children to grasp and enjoy the story more fully. Drawings of Sir Ellery with his celery are now gracing my library’s walls. I look forward to being able to purchase the illustrated book, which I anticipate will be another excellent visual tool to use along with the audio.

In frequenting the Grumpuss website, I noticed that the price for the Grumpuss video has been greatly reduced…and for this I commend you. It is my hope that more schools, whether public or private, will take advantage of this fabulous storytelling opportunity for their students. 

Thank you, Travis, for the delightful journey in rhyme and verse. May this style of writing and ‘telling’ never die, and with your gifts, I am pleased to think that it will live on. My students thank you, too, and are expecting to hear of more exciting tales from Mr. Pike.

With much appreciation,

Lindsay A. Schuler
Burks Elementary School
1801 Hill Street
McKinney, Texas 75069 
McKinney Independent School District