No. 69 - You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!

So, we've finally hit the 60s on the list, and I must say I'm quite excited about the next ten books. There are some absolute classics, an anthology of poems and even a comic! I tend to only work through the list ten books at a time, so it's always a surprise to me when I look at the upcoming titles, and the next ten don't disappoint. Plus there are some favourites of mine on their way this time too! Talking of favourites, I've discovered a new one! The Mr Gum books by Andy Stanton! They're brilliant! 

The list just said 'Mr Gum', so I started at the beginning with You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! As you probably know, I am a great fan of books for reluctant readers. Anything that can spark the passion for reading in a child has my vote, and I think these books fit that bill exactly! Firstly they are small scale, which is less intimidating than a great big book, and the text itself doesn't fill the whole page either. I think sometimes the thought of having to read a whole book is actually what puts children off reading in the first place, and this books gets around that in lots of clever ways.

Along with small sections of text on each page, the style has a sort of handwritten, diary type feel to it. A bit like Liz Pichon's Tom Gates books the pages have a lived-in feel. There are big dirty smudges on the corners of the pages, illustrations in the margins, and often the text is handwritten, misaligned or in a different font. It is all very fluid and most importantly not very book-like! 

David Tazzyman's illustrations bring the non-book-y-ness to life! They have the spirit and animation of Quentin Blake's illustrations, and there's something a little bit Lauren Child about them too. They are cartoony, loose and seem to have a life of their own. Despite being made up of a few deft strokes of a pencil, they are 100% believable! You can smell the disheveled, stinker Mr Gum, and you can hear the flies buzzing around in Billy William the Third's Right Royal Meats butchers shop! It's gross, but awesome! And here again lies the draw of this book. It's disgusting! In a good way! This particular story involves rotten meat and dog poo! It has it's fair share of the grotesque. I mean the end papers have got dog poos, rat poison bottles and ketchup drawn on them!

But what I love most about this book is it's humour! It's surreal, and bizarre, and laugh out loud funny! In fact it's read out loud funny! I can imagine it going down very well in a classroom! It's silly, and that makes me smile. I love a silly book. One that appeals to both adults and children alike, with jokes and asides for everyone. This device is mostly found in picture books, so I was really pleased to see it venture out into the paper back. The Claude books by Alex T Smith have a similar feel too. More of the same please! It's a winner! And I knew I was on to a winner as soon as I read the opening page of You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!. 

Stanton's descriptions often skip the obvious and move straight to the things that we would usually pass by, or that we just didn't need to know, and of course these are often the funniest. It's a bit like observational humour, it's the little things that you take for granted that are actually the most amusing. We are told that Mr Gum hates children, animals, and fun, so far these are all very standard things for a nasty character, but Stanton also thinks we ought to know that Mr Gum hates corn on the cob too. It's so unimportant that it's funny. I love it! Plus who lists 'scowling at things' as a hobby!? 

Another thing that Stanton does really well is an underwhelming observation. For example 'The moles raced back their holes at the speed of moles.', and Jake the dog is seen 'chomping up the flowers in his big doggy mouth to see what they tasted like (generally they tasted like flowers)'. It is touches like this that I think make this book so appealing, and much more fun to read aloud. As a child this would have really tickled me and made me want to read more. 

This first Mr Gum story has won two awards, and it's easy to see why. I was also excited to discover that Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear (book no. 5) had been made into a musical! Bizarre, but not unexpected. Once you've been in Mr Gum's world a while anything is possible. 

So, I suppose you've guessed that this has been one of my favourite books so far! And yes, I will be popping to the library and getting the next one, despite the fact I'm probably about 20 years older than the intended audience! Reading this book has reminded me of being little again. I loved a funny book as a child, and the more bizarre the better. I'd have devoured these had they been around then, so why not do it now and re-live that joy!

I'm going to leave you with a review of this book from Bryony aged 8, which I think totally sums up it's appeal: 

"Funniest book I have ever read and will ever read... When I read this to my mum she burst out laughing and nearly wet herself... When I had finished the book I wanted to read it all over again it was so good."* 

Thanks for reading, L x

Next time, it's The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett.

*From the reviews in the front of You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! by Andy Stanton, illustrated by David Tazzyman.  

No.90 - The Brilliant World of Tom Gates

So, I've reached number 90, meaning I have officially completed a 10th of my challenge!!! Huzzah!! 

I think my favourite book from the first 10 has got to be Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, and I urge everyone who hasn't read it to go out and find a copy ASAP! You'll enjoy it! I'd also like to say how much I loved Michael Foreman's beautifully illustrated memoir War Boy, and again I urge you all to have a look at it! 

This post's book is The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon. Now, so far on this journey the books I've read haven't particularly felt like children's books. Thomas the Tank Engine has probably been the most childlike book so far, but even that felt quite grown up due to its old fashioned writing style. In a stark contrast to this Liz Pichon's book screams 'I AM FOR CHILDREN!!'. The cover itself exudes mischief, fun and childhood, to the point where it would seem that this book has actually been written and illustrated by the main protagonist Tom. And this is exactly Pichon's intention! The cover is as symbolic as the 'Keep Out' sign you might find on a teenagers door or diary, and as an adult reader I almost felt like I was prying! Tom, whom I would place at about 10 years old, is the heart and soul of this book and to all intents and purposes the book is written by him. When you open this book it's not your traditional print book, but instead it is more of a journal or notebook in which 'Tom' has doodled and recorded his life. Just take a look! 

Pichon absolutely succeeds in making you believe that this is the genuine article rather than a work of fiction, and I can imagine that this is very appealing for a pre-teen reader! I think some children, and in particular boys, as many studies have proven, struggle with a traditional print book. This is not to say that their reading skills are below average, but I just think that for some children the idea of a block of text can be quite daunting. What Pichon has achieved here, and in the rest of the Tom Gates series, is a book that is totally accessible. It's numerous amusing doodles, annecdotes and stream of conciousness style of writing keeps the readers attention in a way that a print book just can't. Children can't get bored of Tom Gates's world because the story changes and develops at such a fast pace! For an adult reader this was hard to keep up with and I struggled a little trying to put myself in the place of a 10 year old boy who liked nothing more than annoying his older sister and was obsessed with a rock band called Dude 3!! However, for many 10 year olds this will no doubt strike a chord, and I'll admit that some of Tom's world seemed familiar even to me! (In particular the trial of bumping into a teacher outside of school! Who doesn't remember how weird that was!? And Tom's teacher was wearing leather trousers!! Awkward!) 

I take my hat off to Liz Pichon for creating a book that so wonderfully (and amusingly, may I add) gets into the headspace and world of Tom. She makes it seems so effortless, and this is the beauty of this book. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is struggling to get a child into reading, in particular boys. It's a quick read, full of wit, mischief and in some ways the reality of school life when you're 10! The embarrassment of parents, the importance of seeing your favourite band, and the horror of school photos and parents evening! The doodles make it endearingly fun and there is even an interactive element, with a lesson on how to draw Tom's older sister Delia at the back! 

Although I was extremely conscious that this book was aimed at a child audience and felt like I was in forbidden territory, for the intended readership I think The Brilliant World of Tom Gates is a very original, enjoyable book that shouldn't be missed! 

Thanks for reading! L X

In other news I'm going to be taking a little break from the blog in September while I make preparations and get started on my MA in Children's Literature! It's all very exciting, but there is so much reading to do that I am going to have to focus on that for a bit. I'm hoping though that what I learn will inform my reading of the books on this list, and in turn produce more interesting posts for you to read, so it's a win win situation! Don't worry though, it won't be long before I'm back here telling you all about the course and the next book on the list, Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers! L x