A very charming 1936 book of stories, strung together to form a light novel. As with so much fiction of the Jazz Age, it's a very concise book, easy to read and quick to finish; I ambled my way through it in a couple of sunny porch sittings. I had been familiar with the concept of Worzel Gummidge since I was a teenager because of the popular 1980s TV series, but I hadn't seen it, or read the book, until this year. Worzel never seems to have made much of an impression here in the United States.

This is at least a little bit surprising, because the basic format of Worzel - two middle-class children spend their summer holidays "keeping out of trouble" by getting into scrapes in their attempts to keep secret their acquaintance with a grumpy magical being - seems to owe more than a little to E. Nesbit, who is both known and republished in this country. Worzel, a moody scarecrow with a broad, word-mangling accent, could easily be the country cousin of Nesbit's Psammead. Todd only has two children, as opposed to Nesbit's usual five or six, but they're still running around a village putting out brush fires as Worzel, like the Psammead, misinterprets modern life and how it works. There's a bit of Richmal Crompton's Just William in here, too, with the willful (if ultimately rather gentle) upheaval of adult routine into what both series characterize as a kind of anarchy.

What's perhaps interesting is how Todd's stories work on a couple of different levels, and how the different adaptations emphasize different, equally valid, interpretations. Based on what we can tell about the early radio and TV adaptations, the many adventures of John, Susan, and Worzel were treated as gentle country stories: kindly and wholesome for small children. That is a completely valid reading; there's something very calm about Todd's prose, and the small-scale aspect of the "scrapes," that makes them perfect for bedtime. The 1980s series with Jon Pertwee, on the other hand, emphasized the juxaposition of showbiz slapstick and melancholy, focusing firmly on Worzel and going so far as to extrapolate a couple of minor Todd characters into the vicious object of his affecton, Aunt Sally, and his creator, the Crowman. This, too, is valid; the stories are quite mischievous, and making the anarchy a little more explicit helps you to feel Worzel's pathos, which is implied but rarely stated in the book, more deeply.

The most interesting moments in the book, however, are the little glimpses of the uncanny, the slightly unsettling moments you aren't sure how to take. The recent Mackenzie Crook series leans into and amplifies these. There are three or four in this first slim volume of stories, and each time, they make you pause. The meeting of scarecrows toward the end of the book is particularly strange; Todd keeps returning to the idea that scarecrows don't know how to move like humans, and they walk sideways like crabs, while one, briefly featured scarecrow rolls along with his legs made out of a milking stool. My favorite moment is when Susan witnesses Worzel enchanting the rabbits in a neighbor's garden; she thinks he must be a "wizard," but Todd's description goes beyond that: he seems to have an understanding of nature that can't be understood by you or I.

I really enjoyed getting to know Worzel Gummidge and would quite happily read another book of his stories. Reprint these in the USA! ( )

I'd completely forgotten about Worzel. I have only memories of the memory now, but as a kid loved these. ( )

What an odd little book. As Susan says, Gummidge is ... dreadfully uncomfortable to be friends with." A reader must enjoy the absurd and be willing to figure out new things (like whooping cough in older children, and jumble sales, and the fact that house sparrows in England were (are?) called spadgers. Refreshingly original, which I like, not afraid to buck all sorts of conventions, which I appreciate, but still & all I didn't thoroughly enjoy it.

(Interestingly, I found it in a thrift store and grabbed it on impulse, then got here and found it already on one of my to-read shelves. I wonder how I heard about it back when I added it....)

edit: house sparrows are called spadgers" ( )

First of a series of stories about scarecrows who come alive at night. As a child I found it a little grim -- one scarecrow is afflicted with rats which rather like cancer for a human. It also discusses the fact that the guys burned at Guy Fawkes Day were also alive, though they did not feel ,pain. ( )

Worzel gummidge is about a scarecrow named worzel gummidge. A young girl and boy were walking when it started raining so the boy ran and grabbed the scarecrows umbrella. The girl thought that the scarecrow was alive But the boy didn't. The very next morning the little girl wakes up and sees a scarecrow setting in her livingroom. She thought it was just her imagination but then th scare crow started talking. The scarecrow had introduced himself and the boy and girl were protecting him from getting replace. The boy and girl really got to know gummidge and saved him from getting burned in the end of the book.
I really enjoyed this book and i liked the setup. I think that the author did a great job in making the book. This book was made in 2002 based on a fiction story. the author first got the ideas for this story from her little boy and girl jackson and sam. The boy and girl came home one afternoon crying that a scarecrow had talked to them. They had said the scarecrows name was mr. gummy. And they said he had worts so the mom that night was wrighting a book and she had no ideas then the name gummy and wors came in to mind. She thpught about wortsel and gummidge and had her title then she made a fiction book from her childrens ideas.