Book details

Book description

The Wombles have just gratefully returned to their burrow on Wimbledon Common. They had had to leave because heavy lorries thundering up and down the nearby road threatened to make the roof of the burrow cave in.

However, now that the Wombles are safely back, there is another problem they have to contend with. It seems that the humans have realised they have an energy crisis and are throwing much less away. The Wombles' supplies begin to run low. What can the Wombles do? It is time for EMERGENCY SPECIAL PROJECTS - with DIY king Tobermory in charge. Elisabeth Beresford first came up with the idea for the Womble characters when walking on Wimbledon Common with her two children. She started sketching out the characters that day: Great Uncle Bulgaria was based on her father-in-law, Tobermory on her brother (an inventor), Orinoco on her son, and Madame Cholet on her mother. She hoped that the Wombles stories would encourage children to fight pollution and to think up ways of 'making good use of bad rubbish'. In fact, the Wombles so charmed the nation that they were chosen as the mascots for the Tidy Britain campaign. Since then they have had their own television series, first broadcast on Jackanory.

Elisabeth Beresford was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature in 1998 and she now lives in Alderney, the Channel Islands.