THE Grumpit is a self-help storybook for two-to-ten-year-olds created by army spouse, Polly Bateman, to help her young son grow in confidence and self-esteem, by learning to calm himself in situations where he felt anxious or fearful. Army&You reader Toni Beacock and her son Louis (4) reviewed it for us…


This book is about a young chap called Harry, who is rather dubious about going on the new slide in the park. His mum opens up to him about a fun creature called the Grumpit, who is your own personal worry monster.

The Grumpit is something who gets worried for you, and you just have to explain to him or her that they don’t need to feel like that and the reason why.

We loved it. It was perfectly written, the illustrations are colourful and eye-catching, drawing in a young reader, and the background story really resonates within our household.

Louis has since instigated telling me about his Grumpit – who is blue, purple and white – and he often tells me when he has needed to speak to it. When asked what he thought of the book, Louis said: “I really like the monster and it makes me smile.”

As a parent, we can often become oblivious to the times we have felt like needing to speak to our own Grumpit and it certainly has promoted a lot of great conversations with my son about his feelings. In Louis’ words: “I give this book 10 stars.”

Well done, Polly – a wonderful must-read story.

To find out more, follow @thegrumpit or @thepollybateman, or visit Polly’s website.

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