The Wombles

Elizabeth Beresford (author)

Bloomsbury, UK: 1968, December 2010; 240pp

ISBN: 9781408908375

Genre: adventure

Issues: community, environment

The Wombles, furry nocturnal creatures of great strength and considerable intelligence, live in an extensive burrow deep under Wimbledon Common, London, UK. Led by Great Uncle Bulgaria, the Wombles gather anything useful that Human Beings discard on the Common – and it's amazing just what Wombles find useful or reusable.

Bus tickets, sweet wrappers, odd gloves, sunglasses, broken umbrellas, bottles, cans... there is little that Tobermory Womble can't turn to good use. Madame Cholet creates magnificent meals out of leftover food combined with berries, bracken, acorns and other natural goodies gathered by furry paws.

But being a Womble isn't always easy. There are Dogs, for a start, and nasty patches of oil that can lead to a bad case of Falling Fur and Diesel Paw. And somehow young Bungo, only just old enough to earn a name and the right to leave the burrow, always seems to stumble into adventure, dragging the greedy Orinoco, shy Wellington and slow-thinking Tomsk with him. There is the discovery of the concrete mixer right at a time when the Burrow is desperately in need of firmer foundations. Then there is the harsh winter, which sees all the Wombles on short rations and leads to Orinoco disgracing himself terribly. Which in turn leads to Bungo's Great Adventure and an encounter with an American Womble.

Elizabeth Beresford was well ahead of her time with her environmentally aware Wombles. The Wimbledon Wombles have plenty to teach readers about what can be achieved by repairing, reusing and recycling almost anything. Beresford's endearing characters, each a unique personality, and their unexpected adventures will delight younger readers and encourage them to look at the world with a little more imagination.

Beresford's characters were made into a charming stop-motion television series in the mid-1970s all illustrations since then have been based on Ivor Wood's puppets.

A thoroughly delightful series for adults and children alike.

Series: The Wandering Wombles; The Wombles At Work; The Wombles to the Rescue;The Wombles Go Round the World