The Munch Bunch

Welcome to the unofficial Munch Bunch website hosted by Dan Pinegar that helps collectors, new parents, and the early readers keep track of the whole Munch Bunch gang. This site is UNDER CONSTRUCTION, so please be kind and send me an email (below) if you have comments, additions, or questions! Note, if you click on the title of some books you will find a picture of the cover of that book; with other titles there is the word "[pic]" which will also show the cover (these are the one's I don't have but want). Cheers!

"The Munch Bunch were a pile of unwanted fruit, vegetables and nuts, swept away in the corner of the greengrocer's shop.... until one very special night when, one by one, they came to life."

"The Munch Bunch included Tom Tomato, Pippa Pear, Lucy Lemon, Pedro Orange and Wally Walnut. Spud, their leader, quickly organized a meeting to plan their escape. Once free, the Munch Bunch traveled into the countryside where they descided to make their homes in and around an old deserted garden shed. But this was only the beginning of their adventures....!"

The Munch Bunch escaped from Mr. Veg's Grocery Shop to the old garden shed where they each built their homes out of things one might find there - red pails, sacks, stone jars, lanterns, an old chest of drawers, boots, shopping bags, flower pots, lunch pails, oil cans and even an old bird cage.

Munch Bunch facts and figures:

In the United Kingdom, between 1978 and 1980, 52 television episodes of the The Munch Bunch were produced by Mary Turner and John Read of Cinemation, shown on ATV. The show was never reproduced in the United States.

In the United States, children were introduced to the Munch Bunch in 1981 through books. These books were written by Giles Reed & illustrated by Angela Mitson for The Rourke Book Co., Inc. There were at least 46 titles that initially came out in a "library edition" or hard cover. The Putnam Publishing Group came out with a "paperback" edition in 1983 of many of the titles.

In addition, licensed products such as coloring books, t-shirts [pic], and glasswares [pic] were produced for this series. Recently I also found out that they produced a "Stories and Songs" record or LP ! [pic].

Munch Bunch Titles
Descriptions from the Library of Congress archives. Books without a description may not be listed with the Library of Congress, or may not have had a description.

Meet the Munch Bunch:
The unwanted vegetables, known as the Munch Bunch, escape from the grocer's shop and set up a real home of their own. [If you want to read the text of Meet the Munch Bunch, CLICK HERE.]
Adam Avocado:
Pippa and Suzie go to great lengths to ruin the Chinese dinner Adam has prepared.
Banana Bunch:
Despite the nasty tricks Billy, Peanut, and Scruff play on them, the Banana Bunch thrills its audience with lively songs and dances.
Barnabus Beet (aka Barnabus Beetroot [pic])
Billy Blackberry:
Even when Billy Blackberry is trying to be very good, he manages to get into trouble.
Bounce:
Bounce gets an unexpected ride on his big homemade kite.
Button and Tiny:
The Mushrooms sisters find buried treasure in their backyard.
Casper Carrot:
Casper worries about a big decision he must make.
Chunky Pineapple:
Chunky Pineapple makes a nuisance of himself until he finds a good use for his strength.
Corky Coconut:
Clumsy, Corky Coconut puzzles his friends by speaking in rhyming slang and finds even clumsiness has its rewards.
Corney-On-The-Cob:
A nasty trick designed to prevent Corny from growing a prize-winning sunflower backfires.
Dick Turnip:
Dick Turnip and his nasty gang miss a birthday party after stealing the cake.
Eddie Eggplant:
Several disappointed uninvited guests make sure Eddie's party ends in disaster.
Emma Apple:
What starts out as a nasty joke on Emma Apple turns out to be a new beauty treatment.
Lizzie Leek:
Spud and Tom mischievously change the labels on the boxes in which Lizzie is sending the hats she has especially made for her friends.
Lucy Lemon:
Members of the Munch Bunch give Lucy lots of advice about building a sled.
Nurse Plum:
Nurse Plum, one of the Munch Bunch, is not fooled for a minute by Billy's and Scruff's performance as they try to get out of working.
Olive:
Usually shy Olive overcomes her bashfulness at a party where she is disguised as a ghost.
Olly Onion:
Olly's fishing trip takes a bad turn when he meets Billy and Scruff.
Peanut:
Peanut spends a rainy day dreaming about life as a cowboy.
Pedro Orange:
Pedro Orange returns to Spain to visit his family, but soon begins to miss his friends, the Munch Bunch.
Penny Parsnip:
Penny Parsnip, the Munch Bunch librarian, causes havoc among her friends as she walks through town while reading.
Percy Prune:
The Munch Bunch newspaper prints articles based on outdoor adventures of the printer, Percy Prune and his friends.
Pete Pepper:
Pete Pepper can't believe that so much could go wrong during one day, but it could.
Pippa Pear:
Pippa Pear is determined to lose a few pounds but her friends make it difficult.
Professor Peabody:
Because he has read so much, Professor Peabody knows how to help the Munch Bunch build a new boat.
Rozzy Raspberry:[pic]
Rozzy enjoys playing practical jokes but her friends don't share her feelings.
Runner Bean:
In the Munch Bunch village, naughty berries decide to play tricks on Runner Bean.
Rory Rhubarb:
Rory's friends overlook all his strange habits and consent to look for an elusive beast he tells them about.
Sally Strawberry:
The portrait Sally Strawberry does of one of the Munch Bunch causes hard feelings until Professor Peabody intervenes.
Scruff Gooseberry:
Scruff Gooseberry builds a car from the treasures he collects from the Munch Bunch.
Spud:
The Munch Bunch use Spud's old yellow scarf on the snowman they build.
Supercool:
When Supercool takes up skateboarding, he fails to learn some of the fundamentals.
Suzie Celery:
Naughty Suzie Celery goes to great lengths to prove she is better than her friend.
Tom Tomato:
Although he loves to help his friends, Tom's help is not always appreciated.
Wally Walnut:
Wally's disturbingly loud voice becomes an asset.
Zack Zucchini (aka Merv Marrow in the UK):
Zack, the village policeman, takes his job so seriously he forgets an important event.
Learn Opposites with the Munch Bunch:
The members of the Munch Bunch enjoy various activities which illustrate pairs of words with opposite meanings.
Learn Shapes and Colors with the Munch Bunch:
The activities of the Munch Bunch provide practice in recognizing nine colors and nine geometric shapes.
Learn the Alphabet with the Munch Bunch:
The Munch Bunch engage in various activities using objects with names beginning with each letter of the alphabet.
Learn the Days of the Week, Months, Seasons with the Munch Bunch:
The members of the Munch Bunch take part in an activity for each day of the week and each month and season of the year.
Learn to Count with the Munch Bunch:
The members of the Munch Bunch visit a fair and enjoy games and rides using the numbers one to twenty.
Learn to Tell Time with the Munch Bunch:
Provides for practice in telling time as the Munch Bunch prepares for a picnic at the beach.
The Munch Bunch at the Seaside:
The Munch Bunch spend a very pleasant day on the beach.
The Munch Bunch Go Camping:
Professor Peabody, Tom Tomato, Suzie Celery, and other members of the Munch Bunch set out on a camping trip.
The Munch Bunch Have a Party:
Led by Spud, the Munch Bunch have a surprise birthday party for Professor Peabody.
The Munch Bunch Welcomes New Friends: [pic]
The Munch Bunch finds new friends at the grocer's, in a garden, and at the fairgrounds.
The Munch Bunch at the Circus (Coloring Book)
The Munch Bunch Joke Book
The Munch Bunch Busy Book (same as UK annual version)

These are titles that are possibly exclusive to the UK:

The Munch Bunch Annual of 1981 [pic]
The Munch Bunch Annual of 1982
The Munch Bunch Annual of 1983 [pic]
The Munch Bunch Annual of 1983 (Winter) [pic]
Spud and The Big Red Balloon (1983)
Sally Strawberry and the Painted Snake
Nurse Plum's Busy Week (1983)
Barnabus Beetroot's Blue Umbrella (1984) [pic]
Olly Onion's Fancy Dress Party
Billy Blackberry's Secret Tunel
Rozzy Raspberry's Wallpapering Machine
Scruff Gooseberry and the Wishing Well
The Munch Bunch Christmas Story
Casper Carrot's New Blue Jumper
Dick Turnip and The Clowns
Merv Marrow's New Police Car
Rory Rhubarb and ...?
Emma Apple's Late Birthday Party
Corney-On-The-Cob's Not-So-Funny Day
Munch Bunch In The Treehouse [pic]

Frequently Asked Questions:

According to my best guestimate and search for them myself, I do believe that the series is in fact "Out of Print."

That is a good question indeed! I certainly know that they exist in the used book market (check the larger used book dealer in your area), but some titles are VERY difficult to find (even I do not own a complete set). Also, I know that Amazon.com allows you to do a used book search for sellers in the U.S., but be prepared to spend between $10-30 per book! On other markets such as ebay.com, in the Books: Children category, they generally sell for $5-15 for hardcopies and slightly less for paperbacks. Of course, in my opinion, this is comparable to current children's books that you'd buy new.

If you have the time and skills to help, sure! Just send me an email. Eventually I do plan to put pictures of the covers of each book for informational purposes of better identification up as well.

4. I have some of this stuff, how much is it worth/where can I sell it?

Prices vary depending on condition and what the item is. A common title is worth less than a harder title to find. Hardcovers are generally worth more than soft covers, too. Non-book items are generally not worth any more than the books themselves. I have decided to become somewhat of an entrepreneur here, but if you have a Munch Bunch item, write me an email and let me know, even if its just a single book, a duplicate book title, a t-shirt or something else! I am located in the United States but am looking to buy all sorts of items. Thanks!