There have been over 600 Tom Puss stories in total and most of them feature Oliver B. Bumble. Bumble and Puss' stories have been translated and published worldwide. An animated movie based on the series named Als je begrijpt wat ik bedoel ("If you know what I mean," one of Bumble's catch-phrases) was released in 1983. In English, it is alternately called The Dragon That Wasn't (Or Was He?) and Dexter the Dragon and Bumble the Bear. In the 1940s, Toonder created a number of short animated movies featuring the characters in commercials for Philips. For P1 (and older siblings) – talk about what they missed about school when they are not present and what they most look forward to when they return. Maybe they could create a message for the new P1 children –‘The best thing about Primary 1 is ….’ and draw a picture.

In February 2007, the Dutch Programme Foundation began a 440-part radio drama based on the series, hosted by Radio 4. The series ended in December 2009. There have been rumors of a new film and animation series. Introduce the story, ‘The Bumblebear’ by Nadia Shireen or listen to it being read here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ZaSM6sNGw or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tvXFif3M1o If you are looking for a fun homework activity, invite the children to become bees? Let them explore the sound and movement of bees and maybe even create their own bumblebee dance. To help – play the music of Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X14kC-sEH0I or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZO5KTJTwhE&list=RDxZO5KTJTwhE&start_radio=1 He is a kind soul but he tends to act before he thinks. [2] His compassion and sense of justice can sometimes move him to do great things, [4] although it's usually others, most often Joost and Tom Puss, who do the actual work. He also tends to blame others for his own mistakes and rarely gives Tom Puss the credit he deserves for getting him out of trouble. As he has a "delicate constitution", [5] he has no heart for conflict, but in the end he will always help his friends in need.For nursery children, have fun with a bee counting song for numbers to ten - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWUgZm_AE64 The claim that the B. in Olivier B. Bommel would stand for Berendinus is semi-canonical at best. A middle name is not found in any of the original stories and —according to the author— did not exist. Bommel was intended to be an American, though it is possible that he did indeed return to ancestral grounds. The lone initial was part of the American attributes of the character. The source of Berendinus was the answer by an editor in the Tom Poes magazine, and thus one given with a semblance of authority, which explains the popularity of the claim. Now it’s time for some honey of our own – time to make Bumblebear honey biscuits - https://www.booktrust.org.uk/globalassets/resources/time-to-read/2017/bumblebear-biscuits.pdf Character [ edit ] Sir Oliver and Tom Puss with the Oude Schicht [ nl] in Amsterdam, October 4, 1949

The children might enjoy helping the bees to collect the pollen from the flowers in the following interactive game - https://www.bbc.co.uk/games/embed/g758zk3wbh?exitGameUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fcbeebies%2Fgames%2Fmargarets-marigolds-game The children might enjoy sitting down to watch the story of ‘The Lost Bee’ while they have their Bumblebear biscuits - https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories/melody-the-lost-bee Bumble has two staunch admirers. The first is Miss Doddle, Bumble's Dulcinea and his prime source of fresh tea, courage and resolve in times of great emotional turmoil. She idolizes Bumble and thinks he's the smartest man in the world, even though Bumble is out of his depth more often than not. The second great admirer is the dwarf Kwetal who thinks Bumble has a big thinking-frame ("denkraam") and blindly trusts his judgment. He is the source of some weird gadgets which wreak havoc in Bumble's life or work as a deus ex machina to solve the problems which Bumble's ill-conceived grand designs have caused.

Discuss with the children the times of year that they have seen or noticed bees. What do the bees look like? What sounds do they make? To find out some more about bees and even why they sting – this clip might help - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6BFRcp2dFs Alligator (3) Chameleon (2) Dinosaur (6) Frog (36) Lizard (5) Snake (1) Turtle (8) OtherReptiles (1) Sir Oliver B. Bumble was introduced in 1941, in the third Tom Puss story. Initially, he was only a supporting character, but he soon became a second protagonist. As Tom Puss was noble and heroic, later stories came to depend on the flawed and kind-hearted Oliver B. Bumble as an initiator of events. The final story, published in 1986, ends the story with Bumble marrying his neighbor, Miss Doddel, and settling down. Recap on the story of ‘Bumblebear’. Parents may want to read the story again with the children or invite the children to tell them the story, using their Bumblebear or Bumblebee puppets from last week’s activities.