Book Review: The Chubby Bubbies: Trip to the Museum

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

Float on a wave of imagination in this vibrant children’s book.

Julian and Ethan are bouncy chipmunk brothers who are always ready for adventure. Lucky for them, Mama is taking them to the museum today.

Lively and excitable, this chipmunk duo hops on a trolley and bounds into the museum expecting one thing only to receive another. They visit portraits and statues, busts and still-life paintings, and they’ve got questions aplenty. And Mama’s got answers. It’s all educational—until it becomes more than that.

Julian and Ethan are excellent role models for how you’d want your kid to approach a day at the museum. They are curious, open-minded, and willing to let their imagination invigorate the trip. This is a book that educates—like about the lack of cameras for portraits back in the day—but also illustrates the magic of imagination.

And speaking of illustrations…The Chubby Bubbies Trip to the Museum is elevated by its vibrant images by Irene Silvino. The chipmunks surf on a colorful wave of imagination from the left side of each page to the right, invoking the image of a ride that will take you to magical places. Imagination is captured so enticingly in this book that many little readers will feel excited at the prospect of riding their own imaginations after reading it.

“The real magic comes when you let your imagination guide you.”

The story can feel a bit transparently educational and inspirational, rather than focused on storytelling, but the characters are bright enough and the illustrations are exciting enough to keep young readers returning to it. It also feels like a surprising choice to call them “chubby,” but not necessarily depict them that way in the illustrations.

When Julian and Ethan are fully swept away into their imaginations, they step into the paintings at the museum and start to rhyme as they do it. I loved this subtle change in the storytelling, where not only are the chipmunks exploring new territory, but they’re experimenting with language and making it fun. This could be a fun conversation to have with your little one—about noticing the sudden rhymes—and then launching into your own imagination-filled rhymes with them.

The Chubby Bubbies Trip to the Museum is a fun-filled trolley ride into imagination land. This could be a great companion book to pair with your own trip to the museum with the kiddos.

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