Andy Joel Stanton (born 14 November 1973) is an English children's writer. He is best known for writing the ''Mr Gum'' series (illustrated by
David Tazzyman), through which he made a popular contribution to children's literature.
Stanton's writing is influenced by
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
and
Enid Blyton
Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...
.
Life
Stanton grew up in the London suburbs of Harrow and Pinner and attended the
Latymer School in
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
...
.
He studied English at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, but was "kicked out".
He has worked as a film script reader, a cartoonist, and as a temporary medical secretary for the
NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
.
Works
''Mr Gum''
Books
The ''Mr Gum'' books are set in the fictitious town of Lamonic Bibber. The town has its own fictional newspaper, ''The Lamonical Chronicle'', which features on the ''Mr Gum'' website as "Lamonic Bibber's second best and only paper".
Characters in the books include Old King Thunderbelly and Polly.
The books have won numerous prizes including the 2007
Red House Children's Book Award
The Federation of Children's Book Groups Children's Book Award is a set of annual literary prizes for children's books published in the U.K. during the preceding calendar year. It recognises one "Overall" winner and one book in each of three cat ...
, two
Blue Peter Book Awards
The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme ''Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999. The Awards have been managed by reading charity, ...
for Best Book With Pictures,
and the inaugural
Roald Dahl Funny Prize
Roald is a village in Giske Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village is located on the northern part of the island Vigra. Roald is located about north of the city centre of Ålesund. It is connected to the mainland via t ...
in 2008 for ''Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear.''
Stanton has written nine books in the ''Mr Gum'' series, published by
Egmont Books Egmont may refer to:
* Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark
* Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond
** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the be ...
in the UK and illustrated by Tazzyman:
* ''You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!'' (2006)
* ''Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire'' (2007)
* ''Mr Gum and the Goblins'' (2007)
* ''Mr Gum and the Power Crystals'' (2008)
* ''Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear'' (2008)
* ''What's for Dinner, Mr Gum?'' (2009)
* ''Mr Gum and the Cherry Tree'' (2010)
* ''Mr Gum and the Secret Hideout'' (2011)
* ''Mr Gum and the Hound of Lamonic Bibber'' (2011)
''You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!'' and ''Mr Gum and the Hound of Lamonic Bibber'' were later rereleased as special editions, featuring stickers.
Audiobooks
The eight main books in the Mr Gum series were recorded as audiobooks produced and directed by
David Tyler for
BBC Audio
AudioGO (formerly BBC Audiobooks) was a publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles. It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned by BBC Worldwide. It was formed in 2010, when AudioGO purchased a majori ...
, with the author himself reading. Additionally, the first four books in the series were recorded, with
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...
narrating, in 2012.
Stage
Stanton wrote the book and lyrics for ''
Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear - The Musical!'' which premiered at the
National Theatre in July 2019.
Other books
Additionally, Stanton has written several other books published by various publishers:
* ''Danny McGee Drinks the Sea'' (2016)
* ''Natboff! One Million Years of Stupidity'' (2018)
* ''When I Was a Child'' (2019)
* ''The Paninis of Pompeii'' (2019)
* ''Going to the Volcano'' (2020)
* ''The Story of Matthew Buzzington'' (2021)
* ''Sterling and the Canary'' (2021)
Personal life
Stanton is Jewish.
References
External links
Mr Gum– series website by publisher
Egmont UK.
* .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Andy
Living people
English children's writers
Writers from London
1973 births
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Jewish writers