Wombles story books

Children’s author Elisabeth Beresford had the idea for The Wombles while walking on Wimbledon Common with her children, Kate and Marcus. At the time she lived in south London, though she later moved to Alderney, one of the Channel Islands off the north coast of France. She’d previously written a series of books about magic.

The original 1968 hardback book, simply titled The Wombles, was illustrated by Margaret Gordon with the Wombles looking like teddy bears - brown and furry, mostly not wearing clothes. The Puffin paperback in 1972 used the same illustrations. But for the paperback of The Wandering Wombles in 1974, Puffin used new illustrations by Margaret Gordon, “drawn from Ivor Wood’s original film puppets”.

In 1975, Barry Leith took over as illustrator, continuing with the new-look Wombles based on the TV series. For the 1990 editions, Walker Books kept the same illustrations, with new covers by Edgar Hodges.

Brand new editions with fresh illustrations by Nick Price were released by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2010 and 2011.

All of the following are UK editions.

The Wombles

First published by Ernest Benn Limited 1968
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1968
510-09681-6

Published by Puffin Books 1972
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1968
ISBN 0 14 03.0572 6

Published by Ernest Benn 1975
Illustrated by Barry Leith 1975
ISBN 0 510-09682-4

Reprinted by Puffin Books 1977
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1977
ISBN 0 14 03.0572 6

Published by Walker Books 1990
Illustrated by Barry Leith 1975
Cover by Edgar Hodges 1990
ISBN 0 7445 1733 8

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing 2010
Illustrated by Nick Price 2010
ISBN 978-1-4088-0837-5

Galaxy Plus large print edition licensed and published by AudioGO Ltd by arrangement with Bloomsbury Publishing 2011
Illustrated by Nick Price 2010
ISBN 978-1-4056-6482-0

Full colour hardback gift edition published by Bloomsbury Publishing 2011
Illustrated by Nick Price 2010 and 2011
ISBN 978-1-4088-2180-0

Full colour paperback gift edition published by Bloomsbury Publishing 2013
Illustrated by Nick Price 2010 and 2011
ISBN 978-1-4088-2648-5

Puffin Books: “The Wombles live under Wimbledon Common, and it is their special responsibility to ‘tidy up’ everything that untidy Human Beings leave behind them.”

Ernest Benn (1975 edition): “Have you ever seen a Womble? Their television appearances have made several of the Wombles, who live in a comfortable burrow under Wimbledon Common, well-known to millions of viewers. But you might have already seen Bungo, or Orinoco, Wellington, or even Great Uncle Bulgaria, hard at work keeping the Common tidy. It is the cast-offs of Human Beings - chocolate biscuits thrown out of prams, parts of bicycles that have fallen off, and old copies of The Times (Great Uncle Bulgaria’s favourite reading) - that provide the Wombles with the necessities of life. Of course, from time to time things do run out, but Tobermory, who is in charge of the Workshop, is expert at making things from bits and pieces with his clever paws, and Madame Cholet, the cook, can turn almost anything into a delicious meal - a talent which Orinoco particularly appreciates! So life goes on very pleasantly under the Common - for most of the time, that is…”

Walker Books: “Here they are, the tidy inhabitants of Wimbledon Common whose exploits have delighted readers and TV viewers for years. Meet Great Uncle Bulgaria, the white-furred chief Womble; handyman Tobermory, who turns people’s litter into the most amazingly useful things; Tomsk, the golfing Womble; tubby Orinoco, who loves food and forty winks; Madame Cholet, the cook, and last but by no means least, young Bungo, who’s just about to go out on the Common alone for the first time…”

Bloomsbury: “The Wombles live in a warm and cosy burrow beneath Wimbledon Common. They like nothing better than a good tidy-up and luckily the Wombles’ burrow is the perfect place to sort and recycle all the rubbish that careless Human Beings leave behind! One day, two of the younger Wombles, Bungo and Orinoco, venture on to the Common for the first time. Large and noisy dogs and dangerously windy weather are just the beginning of many adventures!”

Bungo
Orinoco and the black umbrella
The tree that moved
Tomsk hangs on
Bungo and the concrete mixer
Orinoco and the rabbit hole
The Christmas party and Mr D. Smith
The snow Womble
Orinoco and the chocolate cake
Bungo’s great adventure
Yellowstone Womble
Great Uncle Bulgaria’s day out
Tobermory’s surprise and the Midsummer party

The Wandering Wombles

First published by Ernest Benn 1970
Illustrated by Oliver Chadwick 1970

Published by Puffin Books 1974
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1974
ISBN 0 14 03.0653 6

Published by Walker Books 1990
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1974
Cover by Edgar Hodges 1990
ISBN 0 7445 1737 0

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing 2010
Illustrated by Nick Price 2010
ISBN 978-1-4088-0833-7

Puffin Books: “‘We shall have to move,’ said Great Uncle Bulgaria simply, looking his old friend steadily in the face. ‘Move? Us?’ said Tobermory. ‘But we’ve lived under Wimbledon Common for hundreds of years. There’ve been burrows here since any Womble can remember. It’s unthinkable.’ But their home was being shaken to pieces, so scouting parties were sent into strange country seeking for a new home.”

Walker Books: “Here they are again, the tidy inhabitants of Wimbledon Common whose exploits have delighted readers and TV viewers for years. When building work threatens the Wombles’ burrow, Great Uncle Bulgaria decides it’s time to move. Orinoco and Bungo are sent off on a top secret scouting mission to Scotland where they meet the fierce Clan Wombles. Meanwhile, Wellington and Tomsk find themselves exploring the gardens of a Very Important Person indeed!”

Bloomsbury: “The Wombles live in a warm and cosy burrow beneath Wimbledon Common. They like nothing better than a good tidy-up and luckily the Wombles’ burrow is the perfect place to sort and recycle all the rubbish that careless Human Beings leave behind! Bungo and Orinoco have been chosen by Great Uncle Bulgaria for a dangerous and exciting task. The Wombles’ beautiful burrow is under threat. It is up to Orinoco and Bungo to find a new home for the Wombles - and fast!”

The enormous lorry
O W W
Fresh fields and pastures new
The great adventure
Captured
Great Uncle Bulgaria’s great idea
Tomsk and Wellington set out
The MacWomble
Nessie
Wellington’s discovery
Troubles
Bungo is happy again
The Wandering Wombles
The new burrow
Great Uncle Bulgaria looks ahead

The Invisible Womble And Other Stories

Published by Ernest Benn 1973
Illustrated by Ivor Wood 1973
ISBN 0 510-09687-5

Published by Ernest Benn 1973
Illustrated by Ivor Wood 1973
ISBN 0 510-09687-3

Published by Puffin Books (Young Puffin) 1973
Illustrated by Ivor Wood 1973
ISBN 0 14 03.0602 1

Published by Walker Books 1990
Illustrated by Ivor Wood 1973 Cover by Edgar Hodges 1990
ISBN 0 7445 1747 8

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing 2011
Illustrated by Nick Price 2011
ISBN 978-1-4088-0834-4

Puffin Books: “Here are Bungo, Great Uncle Bulgaria and all the other Wombles, hard at work tidying up Wimbledon Common. These adventures are taken from the popular television series and show them at their funniest and best.”

Bloomsbury: “There is always lots going on when it comes to the Wombles! First there is the mystery of the scary and sinister purple pawprints. Then there is the problem of how to encourage Orinoco to do a little less snoozing and a little more tidying up. And then there is Tobermory, expert handyman, who is trying to keep the burrow clean and dust-free. But has he got his new invention quite right?”

Introduction
The Purple Paw Mystery
Peep-peep-peep
The Invisible Womble
A Breath of Fresh Air
Bungo’s Birthday Surprise

The Wombles At Work

First published by Ernest Benn 1973
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1973

Published by Puffin Books 1975
Illustrated by Barry Leith 1975
ISBN 0 14 03.0794 X

Published by Walker Books 1990
Illustrated by Barry Leith 1976 (same illustrations as the 1975 Puffin edition)
Cover by Edgar Hodges 1990
ISBN 0 7445 1745 1

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing 2011
Illustrated by Nick Price 2011
ISBN 978-1-4088-0836-8

Puffin Books: “‘If Human Beings are so silly that they want to poison themselves, that’s their affair,’ said Tobermory crossly, but Great Uncle Bulgaria had been reading about pollution in The Times and saw the Wombles dying with the Humans, unless they took an energetic paw in the battle for conservation…”

Walker Books: “The Wombles and their tidying-up exploits have been delighting readers and TV viewers for years. Now living in a burrow under London’s Hyde Park, the Wombles face a very difficult problem - pollution! Great Uncle Bulgaria offers a gold medal for the best solution and Bungo, Wellington, Tomsk, Orinoco and all the other Wombles are soon busily at work. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger looks on…”

Bloomsbury: “The Wombles have moved to a new burrow that they like very much, but the Human Beings nearby certainly drop a lot of litter! The Wombles have their work cut out for them. And then a stranger starts leaving mysterious notes, signed ‘OW’. Great Uncle Bulgaria doubles the Daywatch Womble Guard. But who could this stranger be - and how do they know where the Wombles live?”

Great Uncle Bulgaria’s great idea
Tomsk and the sick swan
The vanishing tidy-bags
Chewy-crunchy-chocky
Things that go ‘woooo’ in the night
Thin ice
Bungo meets more than his match
Wellington mixes things
The mysterious OW
Dandelion omelette
Emergency! - Red Alert!
The Gold Medal winner

The Wombles To The Rescue

First published by Ernest Benn 1974
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1974

Published by Puffin Books 1977
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1974
ISBN 0 14 03.0981 0

Published by Walker Books 1990
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1974
Cover by Edgar Hodges 1990
ISBN 0 7445 1746 X

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing 2011
Illustrated by Nick Price 2011
ISBN 978-1-4088-0838-2

Walker Books: “The Wombles and their tidying-up exploits have delighted readers and TV viewers for many years. Now they’ve moved back from Hyde Park to Wimbledon Common, but spirits are low - for the amount of litter has fallen and Womble supplies are shrinking. Great Uncle Bulgaria is called to a crisis meeting in America and Bungo goes with him. So it’s left to Tobermory, Wellington, Orinoco, Tomsk and a very odd Womble called Cousin Botany to try and save the day!”

Bloomsbury: “The Human Beings are cutting down the trees, brambles and flowers on the Common, and the Wombles’ supplies are running low - even of favourites such as bramble jelly and dandelion buns! The Wombles will need to use all their ingenuity to find delicious food to eat.”

Great Uncle Bulgaria gets a letter
Tobermory sees trouble ahead
Wellington vanishes
The Grey Wolf of Wimbledon Common
Great Uncle Bulgaria sends a letter
Cousin Botany’s secret
Tomsk has an idea
Miss Adelaide puts her foot down
The big splash
Orinoco on television
Remember you’re a Womble

The Wombles Book

Published by Book Club Associates by arrangement with Ernest Benn 1975
Jacket illustration by Barry Leith

Containing The Wombles and The Wandering Wombles

"Here, together in one volume for the first time, are all the early adventures of the Wombles found in The Wombles and The Wandering Wombles. These are the stories that started the Womble craze and reading them it is easy to see why.

"Under the kindly but firm eye of Great Uncle Bulgaria the Wombles work away at their job of picking up litter and finding a useful purpose for it. Some, like Orinoco, are more reluctant than others to do their share but there is always Madame Cholet’s delicious cooking to encourage them.

“In The Wombles life is a succession of minor incidents, some exciting, some funny but always entertaining. Then, in The Wandering Wombles comes a major event to upset their daily lives. Heavy traffic passing near the common makes the ceiling of the burrow unsafe and the Wombles are forced to send out expeditions to find somewhere new to live. Bungo and Orinoco go north while Wellington and Tomsk look a little nearer home - both with surprising results.”

The Wonderful World Of The Wombles

Published by Penguin Books (Puffin Books) 1975

Box set containing three paperbacks:

The Wombles
The Wandering Wombles
The Wombles At Work

The Wombles Gift Book

First published by Ernest Benn 1975
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1975
Other drawings and collage by Derek Collard
ISBN 0 510-09690-5

Published by Puffin Books 1975
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon
ISBN 0 14 03.0857 1

Puffin Books: “Here are five new stories about the Wombles’ year - and a very full year it is too… There is always something happening, whether it’s Orinoco trying to dodge an extra bit of tidying up on a hot summer’s afternoon, or the Great Womble Excursion to the Channel Islands to give Great Uncle Bulgaria a much needed holiday. There are lots of things for you to do as well, as Wellington shows how to make an indoor garden, Tobermory demonstrates some practical magic and the MacWomble tells the secret of a very special old Womble recipe.”

Stories:

The MacWomble’s Story
Wellington Almost Meets His Waterloo
Orinoco and the Daisy-Chain Gang
Great Uncle Bulgaria Flies High
A Merry Wombling Christmas

Features:

MacWomble Shortbread
Practical Magic
Wellington Plans for Spring
Operation Overground
Seaside Assortment

The Wombles Go Round The World

First published by Ernest Benn 1976
Illustrated by Margaret Gordon 1976
ISBN 0 510-09608-5

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing 2011
Illustrated by Nick Price 2011
ISBN 978-1-4088-0835-1

Ernest Benn: "There have been Wombles on Wimbledon Common as far back as anyone can remember (and that, of course, is a very long time indeed). Great Uncle Bulgaria is very fond of reading aloud the old stories out of The Great Womble History Of The World, about all the things that happened when he was a young Womble and Queen Victoria was on the throne. But the trouble is that the young Wombles are beginning to get just a little bit bored with them. So, being a wise old Womble, he plans a new, exciting trip especially for them and a new chapter in Womble history which will be all about their adventures.

"Tobermory invents a revolutionary clockwork balloon and two by two, Orinoco, Bungo, Tomsk and Wellington set off to discover the unwritten history of the Womble world. They find burrows as far apart as California and Tibet, not to mention their most honourable cousin Tokyo Womble and that determined and unconventional relative, Great-Great Aunt M Murrumbidgee Womble in the blue gum forests of Australia.

“There is danger, too, in their trip, but needless to say, back in the Wimbledon burrow, Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory, Madame Cholet and all the other Wombles are keeping a careful eye on the situation, not to mention planning a few surprises of their own…”

Bloomsbury: “Great Uncle Bulgaria loves telling the younger Wombles all about the history of the many Womble clans. But the young Wombles find this rather boring! So Tobermory invents two clever clockwork air balloons and four young Wombles are sent on the adventure of a lifetime - around the world!”

    1. Once upon a time
    2. Back to school
    3. He flies through the air
    4. One, two, three, GO!
    4½. Silence
    5. The ‘Gingerbread’ Burrow
    6. Yellow sky at night
    6½. Something awful, dreadful and horrible
    7. Lost . . .
    8. . . . and found
    8½. Crossed lines
    9. Chinatown
    10. Great-Great Aunt M. Murrumbidgee
    11. Crackers, balloons and kites
    12. ‘Ah-roo-ah-roo-ah-roo’
    12½. Welcome home

The Wombles Of Wimbledon

Published by Book Club Associates by arrangement with Ernest Benn 1976
Jacket illustration by Barry Leith CN 3182

Containing The Wombles At Work and The Wombles To The Rescue

"The Wombles of Wimbledon are now famous - something which makes Great Uncle Bulgaria very proud, although he would never admit it to the younger Wombles in case it went to their heads - and here, collected in one volume, are all their adventures from The Wombles At Work and The Wombles To The Rescue. These are some of the stories that made them firm favourites with children all over the world.

"There is the time they were living in Hyde Park, and the burrow was faced with the Great Pollution Problem; for as Great Uncle Bulgaria sensibly said, ‘If we Wombles don’t do something, I don’t know what will happen’. But fighting Pollu is not all difficulties and danger, there is a lot of fun too, as Orinoco discovers a very special use for a giant mangle, and Wellington invents an amazing disappearing liquid, while Bungo decides that being a Womble is really the best thing of all.

“Back on Wimbledon Common, the Wombles find that there is a mysterious shortage of rubbish; but even without Great Uncle Bulgaria, the young Wombles are full of ideas. There is the oil-rig on Queen’s Mere - which is perhaps not quite as successful as it might be - Orinoco’s remarkable interview on television and above all, Cousin Botany’s ambitious plans for a completely new food supply…”

The Wombles - Take Part Series

Published by Ward Lock Educational 1977, reprinted 1987
Adapted by Sheila Lane and Marion Kemp from the story by Elisabeth Beresford
Illustrations by Priscilla Lamont
ISBN 0 7062 3604 1

“The aim of Take Part books is to give children who are at a vital stage in their reading development the opportunity to get pleasurable experience and practice. Take Part reading books are so structured that children who are at different levels within this reading range can all read together, regardless of their chronological age. They are thus given not only a chance to develop their reading skills, but also valuable experience in collaborating with other children of different abilities and ages.”

Bungo’s First Working Day on Wimbledon Common
Under Wimbledon Common After the Storm
The Wombles Find a Concrete Mixer
Orinoco and the Rabbit Hole
Great Uncle Bulgaria and the Snow Womble
The Midsummer Night Party

Wombling Free

First published by Puffin Books 1978
Illustrated by Edgar Hodges 1978
ISBN 0 14 03.1109 2

Published simultaneously in hardcover by Ernest Benn 1978

Based on Ian Shand’s production of the film Wombling Free for Rank Film Distributors Limited. Written and directed by Lionel Jeffries, screenplay consultant Elisabeth Beresford.

“How can the Wombles, whose job it is to keep Earth tidy, persuade Human Beings that they really exist, and that their message about cleaning up the world is desperately important?”

Great Uncle Bulgaria’s words of warning
Bungo makes a new friend
Tobermory’s food machine
The Wombles in danger
Buttercup ice cream
Bungo goes out to tea
The MacWomble arrives and . . .
. . . gets a big surprise
The Wombles are asked to a party
Wombling free