Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car by John Burningham

Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car by John Burningham

When Mr. Gumpy decides to go for a ride in his bright-red car, everyone wants to come along -- a rabbit, a cat, a dog, a sheep, chickens, a calf, a goat, and a boy and girl. "All right," says Mr. Gumpy. "But it will be a squash." So they all squash in and, for a while, chug along happily. Then it starts to rain, and the car becomes stuck in the mud. Who will help Mr. Gumpy push the car out? "Not me," says each passenger. In the end, however, they all have to help, and a wonderful time is had by all.

John Burningham, twice winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal for his outstanding illustrations, has written a simple story of delightfully understated humor and illustrated it in his most enchanting style.

John Burningham works on an ancient boardroom table that originated from The Monkey Club, a school for debutantes in Kensington, and is filled with pens, pencils, paints, papers, and rough drawings in the basement of his London home. He enjoys collecting furniture, statues, stairwells, and old drapes while he isn't working on a novel. He goes around England and France in search of strange items to display in his home or sell to others. John begins the day with a huge mug of strong coffee, followed by lunch with his wife, children's book author and artist Helen Oxenbury, and a drink of fine red wine, preferably French (wine is another of his passions). He's always been fascinated by the third dimension, and many of his books are built layer by layer because he enjoys painting on various materials such as paper, cardboard, and wood to create a range of textures on the printed page.