You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!

The series of books about Mr Gum, a horrible ‘grimsters’ old man who hates children and is always up to dastardly deeds, has proved very popular. The stories are full of knockabout humour and invented language, often repeated. Characters have catchphrases like ‘The truth is a lemon meringue!’. The narrator speaks directly to readers and there is a clear consciousness that we are in the midst of a story which is still being written.

The illustrations are an integral part of the humour and they break up the text into manageable chunks which less experienced readers may find helpful. There is also an audio version, and issues of ‘The Lamonic Chronicle’, the newspaper of Mr Gum’s hometown Lamonic Bibber, can be downloaded from www.mrgum.co.uk.