You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum

Story

Mr Gum hates everything and everyone. He lives in a grimsters house in the town of Lamonic Bibber, but he keeps his garden beautiful because if he doesn’t, the angry fairy that lives in his bathtub will come and bash him on the head with a frying pan. One day, Jake the dog comes to visit and play in the garden. But he is not a welcome visitor and Mr Gum will do anything to get rid of him...

Why we chose it

Surreal, hilarious, fast-paced, inventive and full of laugh out loud moments, the Mr Gum books are hugely popular with primary school aged children.

Where it came from

Andy Stanton grew up in London, where he still lives. As a child his favourite authors were Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, and Betsy Byars. He wrote You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum! for his young cousins one Christmas Eve when he didn’t have enough money to buy them presents.

David Tazzyman was born and raised in Leicester and he knew he wanted to be an artist when he was five. He worked as a commercial illustrator before starting as a children’s book illustrator with Andy Stanton.

Where it went next

In 2007 You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum! won the Red House Children’s Book Award and the Blue Peter Prize for Best Book with Pictures, and it was selected to be part of the Tom Fletcher Book Club. The fifth book in the series, Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear, was adapted into a musical by the National Theatre in 2019. The series has sold over four million copies worldwide and been translated into more than 25 languages.

Associated stories

There are now eight Mr Gum books, including Mr Gum and the Biscuit Millionaire (2007), What’s for Dinner, Mr Gum? (2009) and Mr Gum and the Secret Hideout (2011). Lamonic Bibber returned in 2018 in Natboff!, a collection of stories set over a million years of local history.

David Tazzyman has illustrated a number of books, including the Agatha Parrot series by Kjartan Poskitt, and, for younger readers, Jelly Boots, Smelly Boots (Michael Rosen 2016), and Eleanor’s Eyebrows (Timothy Chapman 2013).