Clara’s Verdict
Twelve minutes. That’s all it takes for Rumple Buttercup to do something that many children’s books stretch to three hundred pages trying to achieve: make a small, strange, awkward creature feel not just acceptable but wonderful. Matthew Gray Gubler – better known to most adults as Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds – wrote and illustrated this story himself, and the authenticity of that singular vision is exactly what makes it work.
It’s the #1 New York Times bestselling picture book for good reason. But in audiobook form, with Gubler reading it himself, it gains an extra dimension of oddness and warmth that feels entirely right.
About the Audiobook
Rumple Buttercup has five crooked teeth, three strands of hair, green skin, and a left foot slightly bigger than his right. He is weird. His only friend is Candy Corn Carl – an imaginary companion made of rubbish – and together they discover that belonging doesn’t require you to sand down your edges.
The story is brief and the moral is not subtle, but the delivery is so charming and specific that it avoids the worthy-but-dull trap that catches so many books with similar aims. The details matter: the names are strange, the illustrations (in the printed version) are genuinely distinctive, and Rumple’s particular catalogue of peculiarities gives children something to hold onto. Being weird is not abstract here – it has crooked teeth and green skin and a name that trips off the tongue like a spell.
At twelve minutes, this works beautifully as a bedtime story or a short-journey listen. Parents who play it for children will find themselves oddly moved by the time it ends.
The Narration
Gubler narrating his own story is a delight. His voice is warm, slightly unusual, and absolutely suited to material this peculiar. He doesn’t do character voices so much as inhabit the world of the story – there’s a gentleness to how he delivers Rumple’s moments of discovery that feels genuinely felt rather than performed. For a twelve-minute audiobook, the narration carries real weight.
What Readers Say
With a 4.9-star rating from nine listeners, the response is uniformly enthusiastic. UK readers in particular praise the book’s ability to connect with children who struggle to fit in – one reviewer noted her non-verbal sister “absolutely adored it” and she subsequently ordered the collector’s edition. Another described it as “powerful” with “a meaning behind it which I think is beautiful.” A longer review called the illustrations “unique and super cute” and praised how the story’s simplicity is elevated by charming details that both children and adults can appreciate.
Who Should Listen?
Perfect for children aged roughly four to eight, though adults who loved it as a picture book will find the audio version equally satisfying. It’s a particularly good choice for children who feel out of step with their peers – whether that’s due to neurodivergence, shyness, or simply the ordinary bewilderment of being small and new to the world. Short enough to listen to every night without wearing out its welcome.
Listen to Rumple Buttercup on Audible UK – twelve minutes well spent, guaranteed.
