Decent book! I feel like this I would definitely buy for my kids (if I had any) as it has a lot of positive messages! Nice job!

I really loved the illustrations in this picture book! Overall I loved the story arc, but I felt that the rhyming scheme fell slightly flat (could have used a bit of editing to be stronger and more concrete). This story's theme of being kind to one another is so timely and important for young readers.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I read this to my kids and they really enjoyed the story and the illustrations. It was a fun read but it also had a good message built in about what can happen if we let hate and anger go to far.

This was a very cute and fun read that was enjoyed by myself and my two boys (8 and 6). I was only able to read this once before it was archived, but I hope to add this to our collection once it's released.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

The Gobbler is a wonderful, creative way to encourage kindness and love. Both the illustrations and the story were wonderful, and I highly recommend this fun read

Very cute! Good illustrations. Excellent way of explaining to young readers that anger only makes things worse.

I received an electronic ARC from Indie/Clavis through NetGalley.
The Gobbler lives in a pothole and waits to feed. It gets a chance to eat when two brothers come by arguing. It gains the strength/energy to leave the hole and follow them home. Every unkind word and vicious action feeds the Gobbler, and by the time they all get home, it is huge. The family discovers that you can't get rid of it and it simply divides into more Gobblers when confronted. Soon, they are everywhere until a woman share the way to get rid of them. Readers see kind words and caring actions defeat them until only the original one remains.
An interesting way to picture what happens when people interact in nasty manners. Younger readers will understand how words can become monsters and grow larger and larger. The illustrations capture the ugliness of fighting and name calling.

Well-intentioned, this didn't quite hit the mark for me, even if five star reviews are needed, we are told, to keep the titular beastie away. The Gobbler is something that feeds on strife, anger and animosity, so two needlessly bickering young brothers are ideal for it to grow – and grow, and grow, and then to prove it's not alone… Some really strong art, with great monster designs, do add to the positives here, but alongside that is some really clunkily-rhymed script (before it gives up the ghost completely we get "mother" in a couplet with "ever"), and a touch of wokeness about it all that was a bit uncalled for. All we needed was the fun of reading a simply-conveyed, easy-for-all lesson about not having a spat – which nobody can pretend is original, but was perfectly acceptable in this fashion. Hopefully a delay until the summer of 2024 will only add to what are firm, three-star foundations.

📱E-Book Review📱

The Gobbler
EG Creel

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a great story about The Gobbler who lived in a pothole and fed on anger and hate.

When 2 brothers pass by, arguing, the gobbler is tempted out of his hole and as he fed on their anger, he grew and grew.

This had a lovely flow to it and sounded great while read out loud.

I liked the moral of the story, that hate and anger grows and grows and that spreading kindness and happiness will banish the bad feeling and hate (and the nasty gobblers!)

I loved the images too - the gobbler did look a little creepy, so make sure you take a look and judge suitability dependent on how sensitive your child is.
Mine loved them! They thought they were quite cute 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣

The images prompted more discussions through the story, which I always love.

A really enjoyable read that would be great to use for storytime in a group (school or the library) and a nice addition for the home bookshelves too.




💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

This is a great book to start a conversation or class discussion with children about the often natural responses to fight back when someone encounters mean behavior and the power of kindness to break that pattern. The book is fun to read and has beautiful illustrations. Although the book is probably written for a younger audience, as a teacher of 12-year-olds whose first language is not English, I would enjoy reading this book with my class. In my opinion it is still fun to read and watch for 12-year-olds, the complexity of the text is appropriate for my students' English comprehension level and the topic is very suitable for further exploration.

The inspiring message of this picture book rates it five stars. This would be an especially good book to share with children who argue and fight (which Gobblers love to eat). The illustrations were unique and fit the story. Sometimes the rhyming text didn’t flow just right, but it didn’t hinder the important lesson being shown.

This is a great picture book showing how hatred and anger are dangerous for others. My nieces loved it and thought the Gobbler was a little scary but funny looking.

Anger is fed by anger and love is fed by love. Be careful what you feed to others.

Or in other words, you reap what you sow. A very nice story with very graphic (almost scary) illustrations.

This book has such a positive message that can be interpreted in multiple different ways. The captivating illustrations are definitely a fun addition and intrigued me from the start. This story describes important messages about how fast hate can spread and the impact that love and kindness can have on all of us. I found the words don’t always flow but I don’t feel like it was much of a distraction from the story. In the end, I believe hate multiples in numbers and a number of children will learn something from this book. “Remember, even on the smoothest roads, potholes happen.”

The Gobbler is a brilliant little tale about how quickly negativity grows when it is left unchecked, and how bad the consequences can be.

I wish though that a better job had been done with making the rhyming text actually rhyme properly. Because the rhythm is off, which will adversely affect the experience when reading aloud to children.

The gobbler is an ugly little monster that stays hidden away until it senses equally ugly human behaviour. It loves arguments, cruelty, quarrels, meanness or any form of unkindness, because that is quite literally fodder for a gobbler!

And just as unresolved negative emotions grow and grow, so does the gobbler. Indeed as the consequences for unpleasant actions multiply, so do the gobblers.

This book does a fantastic job of illustrating that through an argument between two young children, which quickly gets completely out of control and brings a gobbler infestation upon their village.

The illustrations are nicely done, my only complaint being that the portrayal of the POC looks odd - though the role played by the old woman, for example is very positive, and it is nice to see some diversity.

Overall, this is a well illustrated book, with an important message to deliver. It is strongly recommended for children in the target group age - and beyond. And of course, adults who have yet to learn this lesson! Hence it gets a very high rating, despite the two issues mentioned earlier.

Just read this book with my 8 year old daughter and we really enjoyed it. The rhyming made it easy to read for younger readers and more enjoyable. We found it really funny that the Gobbler kept growing and growing and then more appeared and how they all looked different. I really liked the theme about encouraging people to always be kind and helpful towards others.

"The Gobbler" by E.G. Creel is an exciting story about two kids caught up in an argument, drawing the attention of a creature called the Gobbler, which thrives on hate. They realize they must find a way to defeat it before it harms their village. The book carries a strong message about courage and love, keeping readers hooked as they root for the children to overcome negativity with hope and kindness.

The Gobbler - A story about how hate grows when it is fed

I was given the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I read this book with my 8 year old son, he loved the illustrations and the concept of the story. It is a wonderful method of teaching young children just how quickly hate can spread but also how easily it con be overpowered by kindness.

I enjoyed the rhyming aspect of the writing but do believe there are certain parts of the book that could have been worded better. Overall, this was a great story that both my children and myself enjoyed. It kept their attention and taught them an underlying lesson of the importance of love and kindness.

Much thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Unique and intriguing illustrations that definitely exist to capture the kids attention while weaving a story full of purpose! To subtly teach kids how to love, share, and be respectful!

This is a cute picture book with beautiful illustrations and a great message for kids without being preachy. I enjoyed this rhyming book, but it could’ve used a bit more polish with the rhymes. Some paragraphs or sentences didn’t flow as well as others. But I still enjoyed this story about being kind to each other. I really loved the artwork, especially of all the monster creatures. I think kids would really like those drawings. This is a wonderful book for younger kids to learn how easily hate can spread and how to combat it with love and kindness. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. These are my own thoughts and opinions.