"This 20th anniversary edition of the first book in a trail-blazing, child-centred series includes previously-unseen material, along with masses of mayhem."
While it’s hard to believe twenty years have passed since Andy Stanton’s gloriously surreal Mr Gum first blasted his way onto bookshelves, it isn’t hard to believe that the series has stood the test of time, and feels fresh as it ever did.
Taking its madcap cue from influences as diverse as Monty Python, The Young Ones, The Simpsons and Charles Dickens, the writing, stories and Lamonic Bibber story world also conjure Spike Milligan, thanks to the author’s brilliant wordplay, heightened sense of absurdity, and habit of taking tangential plot twists that somehow wind up making some kind of sense. And all this driven by a nine-year-old “girl worth liking”. Namely, Polly, who, with her “lovely sandy hair like a cat’s daydream and a smile as happy as the Bank of England” provides a formidable foil to grimy and “absolutely grimsters” Mr Gum.
Through the chaos, there’s a keen sense of kindness, and a constant commitment to doing things different — with design, with style, and with structure. For example, chapter four of You're A Bad Man, Mr Gum!, “Mr Gum Has a Cup of Tea”, consists of a single sentence (“Mr Gum had a cup of tea”) ahead of an almost-as-short chapter comprising a deliciously Dada-esque stream of words: “Jammy Grammy Lammy F’Huppa F’Huppa Berlin”. Naturally, this turns out to be Polly’s full name.
Including never-before-seen material, an introduction from author Phil Earle, and David Tazzyman’s original illustrations, this special edition of You're A Bad Man, Mr Gum! will surely see the series create a whole new generation of readers.
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Five stars. I really enjoyed the 20th anniversary edition of You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum because the extra bonus pages were really funny and I really liked the original drawings.
Five stars. You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum is a really funny book. My favourite part was when Jake the big dog was saved by some magical dolphin chocolate.
My favourite character was Polly because she really cares about Jake the big dog.
I’ve read other books in this series and this is the best one!
I really liked the extra bonus material for the 20th anniversary edition, especially seeing the original illustrations for the book and the original ending because they made me laugh.... Read Full Review
Amazing, funny, great, awesome and I loved reading it!
I really enjoyed reading Mr Gum because Friday, Mrs Lovely, Polly and Jake were really kind. One funny part was Friday saying Taws unwise taws unwise. Another funny part was Friday saying The Truth Is A Lemon Meringue. The book is about a man called Mr Gum and a dog called Jake and Mr Gum wants to poison him. Polly is a friend of Jake’s and Billy William the third is a nasty man and so is Mr Gum.... Read Full Review
A special anniversary edition of You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum, a fresh new look for Mr Gum in The Hound of Lamonic Bibber'.
The celebratory anniversary edition contains a special introduction from bestselling author Phil Earle and never-seen-before material .
Shabba me whiskers! It's a bold new look for Mr Gum, the best-selling cult classic, ready for a new generation of nibbleheads.
'It's time for action,' said Mr Gum to nobody in particular. 'Nasty action.' Good evening. Mr Gum is a complete horror who hates children, animals, fun and corn on the cob. This book's all about him. And an angry fairy who lives in his bathtub. And Jake the dog, and a little girl called Polly. And there's heroes and sweets and adventures and EVERYTHING.
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! is the first book in the internationally best-selling series by Andy Stanton, which has won everything from the Blue Peter Book Award (twice) to the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Red House Children's Book Award.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-10 years old
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! features in the following genres: Featured Books for 7+ readers, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Recommendations, Recommended Children's eBooks, Funny, Books to Motivate Reluctant Readers age 7+, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! is available in Audiobook, Paperback, CD-Audio
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! was written by Andy Stanton and published by Farshore an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! has 159 pages
Yes it is part of Mr Gum series
£7.19
