''Professor Bull's Umbrella'' is a 1954 children's picture book written by

William Lipkind William Lipkind (December 17, 1904, New York City – October 2, 1974) was an American writer most famous for his children's picture book collaborations with Nicholas Mordvinoff, under the pseudonym Will (jointly ''Nicolas and Will''). Before hi ...

and Georges Schreiber, with illustrations by Schreiber. About the journey of a professor's runaway umbrella, it was published by the

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

to positive reviews.

Synopsis

Professor Bull—fond of music and radishes—loses his umbrella, Philip, during a grocery errand one windy day. Humor and adventure ensue when it ventures throughout his town, with assorted denizens in pursuit.

Background

''Professor Bull's Umbrella'' was written by

, who won the Caldecott Medal for '' Finders Keepers'' a few years prior to its publication. Lipkind had previously teamed up with

Nicholas Mordvinoff Nicolas Mordvinoff (September 27, 1911 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire–May 5, 1973 Hampton, New Jersey, United States) was a Russian-born American artist who won the 1952 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing ''Finders K ...

for many of his works; for ''Umbrella'', he collaborated with Georges Schreiber (1904–1977), an American immigrant from Belgium. Schreiber's illustrations—made with "pencil on grained Vinylite (Dinabase)"—are held in the May Massee Collection of the

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. Em ...

in Kansas.

Reception

''Professor Bull's Umbrella'' was published in September 1954 by the

to positive reviews, and was a

Junior Literary Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samuel W. Craig and H ...

selection for Grades 2 and 3. Schreiber's illustrations were noted for their memorability and "umbrella's-eye view" perspective, while Marjorie Fischer of ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' commented on Philip the umbrella's human-like

sentience Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '':wikt:sentientem, sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it fro ...

. Alice Brooks McGuire of the '' Saturday Review'' called it "a fluffy bit of fun" buoyed by Schreiber's work. ''

The Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the domina ...

'' thought likewise, adding: "One of the better books for pre-school children...

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

is pure fun from the first colorful page to the last". Fischer said, "The humor is a little heavy in spots, or perhaps merely too adult, but Schreiber's pictures are lively". The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' wrote, "Lipkind...is a little uncertain in his role as a storyteller—but his studied whimsey is captured by the eye-catching fly-away illustrations". In later years, Patrick Groff would take note of the slapstick in ''Umbrella'', but otherwise found it one of Lipkind's stories that "turn and twist with melodramatic, even haphazard, effects, which make for loose-jointed and irregular structures, hard to follow — and to believe."

References

{{reflist 1954 children's books American picture books Umbrellas Works about educators Viking Press books