Illustrated by Charles Santoso

On Sale: Nov 24, 2026
Page Count: 40 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780316574709

$18.99

$24.99 CAD

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Hardcover

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Hardcover $18.99 $24.99 CAD

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A sweet and funny picture book about a grumpy troll that discovers love can be shown in many ways and isn’t that bad after all.

Grumble the troll doesn’t understand why humans like to show affection with icky things like sticky sweets and flowery cards. All he really wants is to be left alone. But when the village of Sweetbriar Ridge surprises him with a Valentine’s Day gift of solitude, Grumble is forced to reconsider his hatred of love. Maybe it doesn’t totally stink? And maybe love looks different for every one!

From Katrina Swenson and Charles Santoso comes a humorous and heartwarming story that reminds readers to be thoughtful and intentional about how they express their love.

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Katrina Swenson majored in English (writing emphasis) and Spanish at Loyola Marymount University and has a graduate degree in Counseling from Gonzaga University. She now lives in Olympia, Washington, with her husband, two kids, and a small clowder of cats. She spends her free time writing poetry for kids, and Love, Grumble is her picture book debut.

Charles Santoso loves drawing little things in his little journal and dreaming about funny, wondrous stories. He has illustrated many picture books, including I Will Read to You by Gideon Sterer; Dandy by Ame Dyckman; Odder: An Otter's Story by Katherine Applegate; Ida, Always by Caron Levis; and Dear Unicorn by Josh Funk. He divides his time between Singapore and Australia.

Katrina Swenson

About the Author

Katrina Swenson majored in English (writing emphasis) and Spanish at Loyola Marymount University and has a graduate degree in Counseling from Gonzaga University. She now lives in Olympia, Washington, with her husband, two kids, and a small clowder of cats. She spends her free time writing poetry for kids, and Love, Grumble is her picture book debut.

Charles Santoso loves drawing little things in his little journal and dreaming about funny, wondrous stories. He has illustrated many picture books, including I Will Read to You by Gideon Sterer; Dandy by Ame Dyckman; Odder: An Otter’s Story by Katherine Applegate; Ida, Always by Caron Levis; and Dear Unicorn by Josh Funk. He divides his time between Singapore and Australia.

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Charles Santoso

About the Illustrator

Charles Santoso has illustrated several picture books, including The Snurtch and I Don’t Like Koala. He worked at Animal Logic as a concept artist/art director and was involved in various animated feature film and TV commercial projects. Charles Santoso’s work has been exhibited in Sydney and also internationally in North America and France. He currently lives and works in Singapore.

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