Barnaby Bumstead and the Gentle Takedown by Remi Makulec – The Strawberry Post
A book review of a fun children’s picture book about a boy who tackles his bullies by using his brains and a clever non-violent technique and employing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
About Barnaby Bumstead and the Gentle Takedown
Title: Barnaby Bumstead and the Gentle Takedown (The Barnaby Bumstead Adventures #1)
Author: Remi Makulec
Illustrator: Remi Makulec
Publisher: Brown Dog Books
Genre: Children’s picture book
Book format reviewed: Paperback
Sweet Strawberries: 
Description: One small boy, one big book, and a whole lot of trouble.
Barnaby Bumstead isn’t your average adventurer. He doesn’t have a sword, a map to buried treasure, or a secret superpower. What he does have is a very important book: “The Gentle Art: A Guide to Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu.”
With a dash of defiance, a lot of practice, and a few well-timed tumbles, The Barnaby Bumstead Adventures is a hilarious, action-packed journey about finding your feet (and sometimes landing on your head) in a world that’s constantly trying to trip you up.
Why Kids and Parents Will Love It:
-Action-packed: Fast pace that keeps readers turning the page
-The Martial Arts Twist: A unique focus on Jiu-Jitsu and the power of the technique over size.
-Relatable Heroes: Characters who make mistakes, get into trouble and have to find their own way out.
*Free copy provided by Literally PR for review…
My review and thoughts on Barnaby Bumstead and the Gentle Takedown
This is such a brilliant story with a great message and some fun activities for kids to do. Barnaby Bumstead is a skinny kid made up mostly of elbows and knees. Every day at school Barnaby tries to avoid his bullies Bossy Bertha and her little brother Bumbling Bob, but no matter what he tries he’s always confronted by them and has to hand over his lunch or some money. One day Barnaby stumbles across an old book called ‘The Gentle Art: A Guide to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu’ and is fascinating by what it teaches, can he use the lessons in the books to take down his bullies, all without hurting them? The paperback is filled with some semi-glossy pages full of some great illustrations and text.
I love this story which begins by introducing Barnaby and showing the difficulty he has with Bossy Bertha and her brother, but when Barnaby comes across the old book teaching the art of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, he is surprised when he reads how he can take down an opponent who is bigger than him by using their own power against them. What happens next is brilliant and I like how this book shows how Barnaby manages to deal with his bullies, ultimately using his brain rather than muscles.
The story is fun and is enhanced by the very good illustrations which appear on every double page. Each picture is so good, showing the character’s expressions well, and I love the way Barnaby looks and the detail in many of the pictures. The story has a good and satisfying ending and the back of the book has a vocabulary vault teaching kids some of the words used in the book, in case they don’t know them, and the back of the book also contains a few different activities to do like spot the difference and design your own jiu-jitsu outfit which can be redone if you use wipe clean markers apparently. The back of the book also shows news of the next book in the series which I’m keen to read too.
Overall this is a great and fun picture book and especially good for kids who’ve faced bullying themselves. A good story with a great message that there are other ways to win over the bullies, using brains and it might also spark an interest in kids for Brazilian jiu-jitsu too!
Buy Barnaby Bumstead and the Gentle Takedown
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About Remi Makulec
By day, Remi lives a life of extreme caution. As a Health and Safety specialist in South West of England, he spends his daylight hours conducting rigorous risk assessments and teaching people the fine art of moving and handling without a hitch. He is, quite literally, the man who tells the world to “be careful”. But when the sun sets over the village of Almondsbury, the clipboard is swapped for a Gi.
As a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) coach, Remi has spent years on the mats, trading safety posters for omoplatas and armbars. It was this “double life” that birthed the world of Barnaby Bumstead. Inspired by the anarchic charm of Roald Dahl and the kaleidoscope of characters that have lived in his head for decades, Remi decided it was time to bring the “Gentle Art” to the playground. In Barnaby Bumstead and the Gentle Takedown, he draws on his coaching experience to show that martial arts are about far more than just defence. To Remi, BJJ is a vital tool for childhood development – a way to weave discipline, patience, and iron-clad focus into the fabric of growing up.
When he isn’t instructing people on how to lift boxes safely or teaching kids how to execute a perfect sweep, he lives in a quiet corner of the South West with his wife and two children – who serve as both his toughest critics and his biggest inspiration. Through Barnaby, Remi hopes to prove that while the world can be a “dangerous” place, a little bit of technique and a lot of heart can help any kid find their footing.
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-Thanks to Literally PR for a chance to take part in this blog tour! 🙂
What do you think of this book? Have you ever had to deal with any bullies? Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂
