September 2012 Book of the Month. Meet the Grunts! Mr and Mrs, their cat Ginger Biscuit, two donkeys Clip and Clop and Sunny, a child Mr Grunt stole off a washing line as a present for Mrs Grunt. The Grunts roam the land in a ramshackle and unlikely looking home on wheels. Their adventures are as unsavoury, unlikely and entertaining as they are as Axel Scheffler’s illustrations wittily show; fans of Andy Stanton’s Mr Gum and Roald Dahl’s The Twits will delight in this disgusting but amiable pair their terrible antics...
Meet Mr and Mrs Grunt. Oh, go on. They're not that bad. No, actually, they ARE. Maybe worse, even. But Sunny, their sort-of son, is okay. They stole him from a washing line as a baby. He was hanging by his ears, which probably explains why they're so wonky (but not why he has sticky-up hair that NEVER lies flat, even if you pour glue into it or try taping it in place). Sticky around and you'll also meet Lord Bigg of Bigg Manor, Bigg-hater Larry Smalls, Mimi the Bigg Manor boot boy (yup, she's a girl) and...Well, you'll have to READ the book to find that out. But I should mention the bees. Did I warn you about the bees?!
See below where Philip and Axel talk about their new book.
Philip Ardagh was our Guest Editor in May 2010. Click here to see the books that inspired him.
Philip Ardagh, whose very first Grubtown Tale won him the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, is author of numerous books including the award-winning Eddie Dickens adventures, which have been translated into over 30 languages.
He wrote BBC Radio’s first truly interactive radio drama, collaborated with Sir Paul McCartney on his first children’s book and is a ‘regularly irregular’ reviewer of children’s books for the Guardian. Married with a son, he divides his time between Tunbridge Wells and Grubtown, where he cultivates his impressive beard.
Drawing on the weird and wonderful characters and settings from the Grubtown books, visitgrubtown.com features six distinct Grubtown locations – including the Daily Herald newspaper office, the Duckhouse/Museum and Smoky’s cinema. The site incorporates fun audio and video - what more could you ask for!
