Uncle Gumpi's Drive

Description

Fun together, a pleasant driving trip in a world without discrimination
John Burningham randomly mixes materials of various textures in one picture book. Paints, crayons, gum watercolors, pastels, charcoal, ink, and various other materials all pop out into the world of his picture books. Burningham is generally known as an author who spends a long time conceiving and completing a picture book, and if you look closely at his paintings, you will realize that he developed his own style after a long period of study. The ‘Mister Gumpy’ series are Burningham’s early picture books where he began to develop his own unique style. Among these, 'Boat Play', published first, won the Kate Greenaway Award in 1971.

The second book following Boating, Mr. Gumpy's Drive, is the story of Mr. Gumpy driving a red car and going for a drive with children, goats, chickens, cats, calves, rabbits and dogs. Before you know it, the bright sunlight is obscured by dark clouds, raindrops fall from the sky, the road becomes muddy, and even the wheels spin, making the car dangerous. When someone needs to get out and push the car, instead of helping, each person makes excuses and the car gets dragged deeper and deeper into the mud... … . The story of a driving trip where the sun clears up again and everyone plays in the water near the house to refresh their bodies and minds.

Walking the path of life together means being partners, going through good and bad times together. There is a small life story hidden in Mr. Gumpi's driving journey. Through this work, John Burningham humorously shows children who are interested in vehicles how humans and animals live together and how much fun it is to be together without discrimination. It also shows that when someone says that they have to make sacrifices and work to push a car from behind, the lame excuses made by girls, boys, calves, dogs, cats, etc. are no different from the excuses we make in our daily lives. give. Even in situations where he might get angry or irritated, Mr. Gumpi, who has a calm and kind expression without change, says this at the end. “Come for a drive again next time.” Even today, Mr. Gumpi’s house is always open. In a free and warm state. The world of free imagination of children is always alive in John Burningham's works.