The Wombles to the Rescue

Elizabeth Beresford (author)

Bloomsbury, UK: 1974, March 2011; 192pp

ISBN: 9781408808382

Genre: adventure

Issues: community, cooperation, environment, friendship

The situation is Womble Urgent and Great Uncle Bulgaria is off to consult with Wombles leaders of the world.

Having returned to Wimbledon Common, the Wombles are ready to carry out their usual duties of tidying up after careless Human Beings. But it seems that Human Beings are being less wasteful than usual and finally beginning to be aware of the limited resources of their planet. Although that's a good thing it does put the Wombles in a tight spot, given that most of their supplies – including food – come from adapted human discards.

Leaving Tobermory in charge and taking the bossy Bungo with him, Great Uncle Bulgaria entrusts his Wombles with the job of returning Wimbledon to its former glory. How are they to do this with such a reduction of supply? Once again Wellington, Tomsk, Orinoco and the others must find ways to make do, mend and invent. They are assisted by the unusually silent (for a Womble) Cousin Botany, from Australia. For the most serious problem is food. For all that they loathed Human wastefulness, the Wombles enjoyed the tasty dishes that Madame Cholet created from such leftovers. With less waste and Humans thoughtlessly clearing the hedgerows, forests and wilderness areas in order to create flat, grassy green spaces, the Wombles face empty larders and worse, empty stomachs. What is to be done?

Elizabeth Beresford's furry environmentalists are some of the best-loved creations of English children's literature and it is marvellous to see them being introduce to a new generation of readers. Loveable characters and whimsical adventures will keep the pages turning. The story structure, which was adapted so easily to television, is just made to be read aloud. Ahead of her time with the strong themes about conservation of resources and environmental protection, Beresford's greatest skill was her ability to create amusing narratives and endearing characters that are dateless. Just as fresh and appealing today as they were forty years ago, young readers will soon be 'Wombling' themselves – and no bad thing for our planet if they do.

Highly recommended.

Same series: The Wombles; The Wandering Wombles; The Wombles At Work; The Wombles to the Rescue