Daniel Henshaw vs Andy Stanton

Andy Stanton is the author of the truly hilarious Mr Gum books. The Year 3 children at Annesley Primary School have been reading the first book in the series and have put together a list of tough questions to ask the brilliant author.

So, without further ado, let's begin...

Cobi: Who is your favourite character from 'You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum'?  

Andy:  Polly. I'm really proud of her. She's cool and brave and loyal and true and she's got really good trainers. The one who makes me laugh the most is the butcher, Billy William III. But Polly is my super-favourite!

Jack:  Is Mr Gum based on anyone?  

Andy:  No, he's just a figment of my imagination. I just thought it would be funny to have a really stupid, smelly, rubbish villain, who looks like they've been sleeping in a hedge. .

Leanna:  Are your other characters based on anyone?  

Andy:  Maybe Polly. When I decided to come up with a little girl as the heroine, I thought of a friend who is brave and loyal and true and her name is Polly. Other than that, they aren't really based on anyone. I'm most like Friday O'Leary because I mean well but I'm a bit stupid.

Shaynayah: How long did it take to write Mr Gum?  

Andy: It took me most of my life... and one night. It's amazing really. I wrote 'You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum' in one night. It was eighteen years ago on Christmas Eve. I didn't have any presents for my little cousins, so I sat down to write a story to read to them on Christmas Day. I wrote for about eight hours solid. In general, writing a book like that takes me six months these days.

Dylan: Have you written other books apart from Mr Gum?

Andy:  I have written some picture books. 'Going to the Volcano', that's a good one. 'Danny McGee Drinks the Sea', that's a good one. 'When I was a Child', that's a nice one. 'Here comes the Poo Bus', that's a disgusting one. I've written 'Natboff', which is like Horrible Histories... except everything is totally made up.

Alfie: How did you come up with the idea for Mr Gum?

Andy:  A great tip for you if you want to write a story of your own: start with the villain, because villains never just sit around doing nothing, so sooner-or-later a story with happen.

Benjamin: Who published Mr Gum?

Andy:  My first publisher was Egmont.

Macaulay: Could you make Mr Gum into a TV series?

Andy:  I've had lots of people asking me if I want to do that and I've tried it with a few people but then I don't really like where it's gone, so I'm still waiting for the right thing to come along. I hate the idea of turning Mr Gum into a TV show wasn't very good.

Leo: How long have you been an author?

Andy:  The first Mr Gum book was published in 2006, so I've been an author for 14 years.

Amelia H: What's it like being an author?

Andy:  It's like... staying at home on your own a lot, sitting in front of the computer, so it's a lot like 2020! But when you've done the work and you put it out there and people actually like your books... that's amazing! What's I'm missing this year is going to schools, meeting kids and going to book festivals, and having fun with readers.

Ruben: Why did you want to be an author?

Andy:  I've always loved books, from when I was a young child until now that I'm a very old child. Reading is one of the greatest pleasures in life.

Riley E: How many books have you written?

Andy:  Nine Mr Gum books, four picture books, four others... about eighteen, I think. Wow! I have been busy. No wonder I'm so tired.

Colby: What's your favourite book?

Andy:  Bleak House by Charles Dickens, which is a HUGE book. Charles Dickens is a very sensible author. But I like lots of silly books. And Stephen King; I like spooky books.

Sienna: What your favourite book that you've written?

Andy:  'You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum' because it was the first book I had published. I really like 'Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear' because it's the most emotional one. I like 'Natboff' because it's a collection of short stories from different eras – there's a caveman one, a medieval one, a Victorian one – so I got the chance to write in lots of different styles.

Phoebe: Who is your favourite author?  

Andy:  I have lots: Betsy Byars, JK Rowling, Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, Stephen King, Charles Dickens, Iain Banks, John Updike, John Steinbeck, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce. I've got a lot of favourite authors!

Sam: What is your favourite film?  

Andy:  That's easy... Jaws! You know why I like it? Because there's a shark in it.

Chase: Where do you live?  

Andy:  In my flat in North London.

Jasmine: What colour is your hair?

Andy:  Bright purple.

Mr Brown (age 31): Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses?  

Andy:  I would rather fight 100 horse-sized Mr Browns.

The Big Quiz:  Daniel Henshaw vs Andy Stanton!!!  

Two children's authors. Three tricky questions. Who will come out on top?

Question 1:  In ‘You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum’, Friday O’Leary explains the origins of the universe. But how many years ago was the actual Big Bang?

Andy:  You expect me to know actual stuff? This is why I became an author, so I could just make stuff up. 3.2 billion years ago.

Daniel:  20 billion years ago?

Correct Answer:  Approximately 13.7 billion years ago.

Who was closest?  Daniel Henshaw, just.

Question 2:  Billy William III invented Butchers Darts. Which year was William III crowned king of England?

Daniel:  Was he between the Stewarts and the Victorians? 1725?

Andy:  I'm rubbish at this. This is gonna be way off. 1450?

Correct Answer:  1689

Who was closest?  Daniel

Question 3:  How man Famous Five books did Enid Blyton write?

Daniel:  12?

Jeremy:  28?

Correct Answer:  21 Who was closest?  Andy

And the winner is...  Daniel Henshaw! 2-1

Many thanks to Andy Stanton for taking the time to answer our questions.  

Andy is the author of 18 books, including the Mr Gum series.

Keep up to date with Andy on his website or on Twitter @AndyStanton15

Thanks for reading. My name is Daniel Henshaw and I'm the author of five books, including The Great Snail Robbery and my humorous new mystery, Killer Cat From Outer Space.  

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