The Secret Order Of The Gumm Street Girls
A Book Discussion run by SusanVillasLewis

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 3 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

Welcome to Sherbet ...

 

Welcome to Gumm Street in the town of Sherbet. A quiet street in a perfect little town where three little girls live. You'd expect they'd be best of friends, but ... no. These little girls greatly dislike each other and that doesn't seem likely to change until a new family moves to Gumm Street and changes their lives forever.

For seven years, bad luck has followed Ivy around like a dog on a leash. Her father disappeared, her mother is a washed-up beauty-pageant winner, and now Ivy and her mother have moved into a ramshackle house on Gumm Street. Ivy's new neighbors - bookish Pru, stuck-up Cat, and wannabe adventurer Franny - are worse than unfriendly. But then a mysterious pair of ruby red slippers turn up, and the four girls are swept away ... not to OZ, but to the jaw-droppingly strange lands of SPOZ, and SPUDZ, and OOZE, pursued by the fashionably mad Cha-Cha Staccato, who bears a frightening resemblance to a certain wicked witch ....

Join us on Gumm Street as the girls begin their adventure one summer, the summer Ivy and her mother move to town, the weather in Sherbet goes wonky and the Jinx doesn't leave.

Gumm Street Girls: My Review 

This was a light, fun adventure romp with the girls who live on Gumm Street suitable for girls probably 8-10 and up. There are a few "scary" scenes, but nothing too terrifying so perfectly appropriate for this age. The writing style borrow a little from Lemony Snicket - departing from the story to talk directly to the audience - and the plot is heavily influenced by the Wizard of Oz, the book not the movie. Makes a great tie-in for a next book to read if your child hasn't already discovered the wonders of Baum. Probably not a great story choice for a boy since Fred the dog is the only male main character, but definitely a great "read-aloud" book.

The author, Elise Primavera, is also the illustrator and her pen and ink drawings are rough and more sketch-like than full blown drawings. They complement the story, though, adding a little more chaos into the mix.

The Secret Order Of The Gumm Street Girls 

The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls

Amazon Price: $12.74 (as of 10/07/2008)
List Price: $16.99

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Gumm Street Girls: The Characters 

Prudence Gumm - lives at #1 Gumm Street. By nature very cautious, likes to read and is constantly quoting safety tips.
  • Class: Tuna-on-Rye, moving to Bacon-Lettuce-and-Tomato

  • Favorite food: Hot dogs with Mustard and Relish

  • Favorite book: The Wizard of Oz

  • Never leaves home without: Safety kit

  • Favorite Safety Tip: "In the case of shark bite, roof collapse, mudslide, earthquake, shipwreck, gastrointestinal disturbances far from bathrooms, or any similar emergency situations, 99.99% of all successful outcomes depend on doing one thing: Staying Calm!"

  • Unique talent: Her cautious nature

Franny Muggs - lives at #3 Gumm Street. Never looks before she leaps and has lots of good ideas.
  • Class: Liverwurst

  • Favorite food: Pizza with extra cheese

  • Favorite candy: Jelly Squirtz (You can never have enough candy.)

  • Never leaves home without: A bag of cookies

  • Favorite quote: "Adventure is worthwhile in itself." -Amelia Earhardt

  • Favorite spot to hang out: Lookout tower at the top of her "wedding cake" house

  • Unique talent: Her great ideas (Cartwheel Class and Zombie Spray)

Cat Lemonjello - lives at #2 Gumm Street. Only daughter of eleven children and believed to possess ESP.
  • Class: Tuna-on-Rye

  • Favorite food: French toast with maple syrup

  • Favorite trick: A one-handed cartwheel

  • Never leaves home without: 3 pennies and a copy of the I Ching

  • Loves to: Play the piano and ride her pony (not at the same time)

  • Lives in: A treehouse

  • Family trivia: Cat's the only daughter of eleven children

  • Unique talent: Her ESP

Ivy Diamond - newly arrived at #5 Gumm Street. Unlucky, uncertain and undistinguished - for a while that is.
  • Class: Liverwurst (moved from Tuna-on-Rye)

  • Favorite food: Fried Chicken

  • Never leaves home without: the Jinx

  • Family trivia: Her mother, Pearl Gale Diamond, won the Miss Venus Constellation of Stars Pageant

  • Favorite pair of shoes: Her secret shiny silver ones

  • Unique talent: Her strength

Fred & Ginger - The beloved canine companions of one Mr. Staccato
  • Color: White

  • Size: Small

  • Weight: Fat

  • Unique talent: They always seem to know exactly what is going on

Gumm Street Girls: Which character are you the most like? 

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Gumm Street Girls: Your Thoughts 

Write a review, add a comment, or debate someone who disagrees with you.

What did you think?

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I'm an official Gumm Street Girl!

Jessica says:

What a great book I'm waiting for the next one!

Mary says:

The Book "The Secret Order Of The Bumm Stree girls" Rulez! Even though it's all fantasy, It's tottaly believable at the same time.... In other words..Love it! really hope it actually become a movie!

Madeleine says:

This is the best story in this world!If you do NOT read it,I feel so so so so sorry for you.You don`t even have a single solitary good day!

SusanVillasLewis says:

I totally would have wanted to join this group when I was 10. I would have loved to join them on an adventure!

I never want to visit Sherbet again!

 
 
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Gumm Street Girls: About the Town of Sherbet 

The town of Sherbet has a boardwalk, a candy store called the colossal Candy Bar, a five-story silver-and-gold ice-cream parlor called the Arctic Ice Cream Palace, a fabulous amusement park, a riding stable with ponies - you name it.

The weather in Sherbet is particularly marvelous, too. It is polite, only snowing in the winter to make things look pretty. It is predictable, raining in the summer every day at exactly 4 p.m. for exactly 45 minutes, followed by a breathtaking rainbow. In short, Sherbet is about a hundred times more wonderful than where you or I live.

Gumm Street Girls: Rate it, if you dare... 

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Gumm Street Girls: The Supporting Cast 

Cha Cha - sister to the Wicked Witch of the West and determined to get the shoes Dorothy took from her other sister

Coco and Bling Bling - Cha Cha's nieces, dedicated to staying as young and beautiful as possible

Mr. Staccato - piano teacher who lives at #7 Gumm Street and urges Ivy to discover her unique talent

Pearl - Ivy's sparkly mother, a former beauty show contestant and new owner of #5 Gumm Street

The Jinx - Ivy's not sure that he's such a good thing, but there are times when she wonders ...

Gumm Street Girls: Official Site 

Don't miss it!

Gumm Street Girls Club
Sign up to be a member of the club! You can download bookmarks, send e-cards and get the Gumm Street Girls flashlight code to use with your friends.

Don't be afraid to use your unique talent.

Gumm Street Girls: Franny's Great Idea 

Franny is just full of ideas, usually underappreciated by those around her. But she has one in this book that proves to be a great one - packing those emergency backpacks. Just in case. Got your pack ready?

Gumm Street Girls: Packing List 

Franny put together a great list of useful things to pack in their backpacks. What do you think was the most important thing Franny included on the packing list? Vote below by clicking the arrows. Click the links to go to Amazon to stock your own pack!





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Gumm Street Girls: Listen to the Story 

The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls CD

Amazon Price: $21.24 (as of 10/07/2008)
List Price: $27.95

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Gumm Street Girls: Elise Primavera 

All about the author

Elise Primavera (Born 19 May 1955) is an American author and illustrator of children's novels. She arrived on the literary scene in 1981 as an illustrator for Atheneum, Putnam, and other publishing houses. Over the course of the last three decades, she has been a prolific illustrator and has written and illustrated several well-received books of her own.

What's the buzz about The Secret Order Of The Gumm Street Girls? 

The Sunday Salon: The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls
I'm hoping there will be a Gumm Street Girls sequel. I greatly enjoyed my time with Franny, Pru, C...
The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls
So, The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls is aWizard of Oz based fantasy for the tween set. Poor...
The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls
First things first, the girls of Gumm street do not like each other. In fact, they really only have...
The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls
Well, it took us a couple months, but Jill and I finally finished The Secret Order of the Gumm Stree...

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Gumm Street Girls: Reader Feedback 

lemonsqueezy

I agree. I have a 10 year old daughter at home. We read every night. This will be next for us. I think that she'll love it.

Posted September 18, 2008

Barkely

Spectangular Squid Lit lens! One of the best ever. I've never read the book, makes me wish I had.

Posted January 13, 2008

All My Lenses 

Like this lens? Want to see what else I've done? Here's my lensography!

Postscript of utmost importance 

DonorsChooseIf you buy any of the books recommended above, this page automatically makes a donation to the incredible nonprofit, Room to Read, which partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish schools, libraries, and other educational infrastructure.