The ''Gumdrop'' stories are a series of 37 children's books written and illustrated by

Val Biro Balint Stephen Biro (Budapest, October 6, 1921 – July 4, 2014) was a children's author, artist and illustrator. He received his education in Budapest and London. His studio was located in Amersham in Buckinghamshire. Writing From an interview ...

. They concern a 1926 Austin 12 hp four cylinder (Austin Clifton twelve four) called "Gumdrop", who gets involved in various adventures. The car is real and was in the author's possession, but the stories are fictional. The first book was ''The Adventures of a Vintage Car'' (1966) and the last was ''Gumdrop's School Adventure'' (2001). His adventures have included such tales as an encounter with the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...

where Gumdrop and his owner helped to protect the monster being exploited for publicity, a meeting with

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrel ...

where Gumdrop helped him deliver presents, and helping an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

escape an abusive

zookeeper A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...

and deliver him to a

safari park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

which they soon help to rescue from being destroyed by

bulldozers A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

. Given Gumdrop's age, various stories feature a sub-plot of his owners needing to find replacement parts for him as certain components become worn out over time, ranging from a new starter to a complete replacement of his engine, often made more difficult by the fact that these parts are no longer being manufactured directly. A television series of the same name and based on the original books was produced in the 1990s and narrated by

Nigel Planer Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, comedian, musician, novelist and playwright. He played Neil in the BBC comedy '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in ''Filthy Rich & Catflap''. He has appeared in many West End mu ...

Titles

References

{{Portal , Children's literature Series of children's books Fictional cars Book series introduced in 1966