Gumdrop

[RDMorrell]

As with Biggles, the Gumdrop series by Val Biro is one that I have really only discovered and got into as an adult. As a child, I had two Gumdrop books, which I got for my seventh birthday and enjoyed immensely. They were Gumdrop - The Story of a Vintage Car and Gumdrop Finds a Friend. But in the past two years, I have acquired many of the other stories, including a couple signed by Val Biro himself! For the most part, Gumdrop books are fairly cheap and easy to obtain, and even the autographed ones didn't cost me that much. One of my favourite acquisitions is a first edition, complete with dust cover, of Gumdrop and the Farmer's Friend, which I think is the third Gumdrop book.

There doesn't seem to be that much information about Gumdrop on the Internet. Even Wikipedia seems to overlook him! But from what little I can glean, there seem to be 36 or 37 Gumdrop books in all. The first one was written in 1965!

Of course, the Gumdrop books are aimed at fairly young children, so they don't take long to read. But some of them are still quite well-constructed and clever, and all the books contain splendid illustrations (which Val Biro does as well). One of the coolest things about Gumdrop for me is that he is based on a real car, and Val Biro apparently takes Gumdrop to visit schools and things. I'd love to meet Gumdrop myself, but being all the way out here in NZ, there's not much chance of that happening.

So, are there any other fans of the 1926 Austin-Clifton Heavy Twelve-Four here? Which is your favourite story, and do you know definitely how many stories there actually are?

[Kate Mary]

I have met Val Biro and Gumdrop. It was in the 1970's when he visited the public library I worked in then, he read stories and talked to the children. He was quite charming and gave me a Gumdrop sticker which decorated my locker for years until I moved on to another library.
Val Biro still lives in Sussex I believe, but there have been no new Gumdrop books for over 20 years, there are none in stock in the library I work in now, sadly. There are 37 books in total. Try this website: http://www.valbiro.co.uk" rel="external

[RDMorrell]

Thanks so much for that link, Kate. I think I've been to that site before, but it was over a year ago and the site wasn't so good then, I don't think. Now it's a really great resource and I look forward to exploring it further. I'm particularly pleased to see a full list of the 37 books, which will make it easier for me to keep track of my own Gumdrop collection.

Thank you also for sharing the story about your meeting with Val Biro. I'm jealous! But happy for you as well.

It's not that long since the last Gumdrop book though - only six years since No. 37 came out, according to the official site. Still, that might be it - I guess Mr Biro is getting on somewhat. It's also true that Gumdrop books are pretty hard to find. Even the co-proprietor of the children's bookshop I live near gave me a blank look when I inquired about Gumdrop books a while back. It seems online auction sites or charity shops are the only places you can find them these days. A pity, because they really are super little stories and so beautifully illustrated too.

[Kate Mary]

You're right! some books have been published more recently (I really should have looked at the website before I put the link in), but I haven't seen any for about 15 or 20 years in the library, perhaps Val Biro's books aren't fashionable anymore.

[Tony Summerfield]

You might like to know that Val Biro is still very much an active illustrator, he has attended several Enid Blyton Days and was there this year in May. There is a photo of him in the Enid Blyton Day thread.

[Ming]

I thought I'll grab the chance to make another post (!) so here's the picture, resized so that (I hope) it fits on the screen.

[Tony Summerfield]

I had noticed that your photos were cropped Ming, which was I didn't put a link. I had actually just posted on the admin forum (what you call the Secret Forum! ) for Matt to pick up that they are cropped on Mozilla Firefox but perfectly okay on Internet Express. They were okay before the big changeover.

[Ming]

The name Secret Forum wasn't my idea, Tony, but I very gladly use the term!

Internet Express - now is that a railway train?

I have just checked it on Internet Explorer and it comes out fine; the only problem being the layout all messed up by my post! 500x334 pixels seems to be the best size for pictures now, and the previous picture was 800x534 pixels.

[Tony Summerfield]

Yes Explorer might be better than Express - my brain is numb after sending out hundreds of Journals! Keith had actually installed an automatic resizer so that it didn't matter what size pics were put in, but that might well have vanished with the old forums, I am not sure if it would have carried over.

Just think all the Journal readers are soon going to be looking at a picture of Ming!

[Ming]

With those dark circles and sleepy eyes! I couldn't believe I was jet-lagged the first day or two!

[Moonraker]

One of the coolest things about Gumdrop for me is that he is based on a real car, and Val Biro apparently takes Gumdrop to visit schools and things. I'd love to meet Gumdrop myself, but being all the way out here in NZ, there's not much chance of that happening.

In fact, Val brought gumdrop to my boys' school, about 20 years ago. We have a photo of Matthew (I think) sat in the car, with Val. I must look it out.