The Gumazing Gum Girl! (Book Series)

***The Gumazing Gum Girl!*** (Sometimes referred to simply as ***Gum Girl!***) is an American chapter book series written and illustrated by Rhode Montijo (who was one of the creators of Mondo Media's *Happy Tree Friends*) and sometimes co-authored by Luke Reynolds and published by Disney-Hyperion and Little, Brown & Company. The series began on August 20th, 2013. The series is inspired by retro-styled superhero comic books and low-budget monster films.

## Premise

The series revolved around Gabby Gomez, a Hispanic gum-obsessed elementary school girl who becomes a sticky, stretchy superhero creature, Gum Girl, after accidentally electrocuting herself through a big bubblegum bubble she blows. As Gum Girl, Gabby risks her life to fight criminals, like her arch rival, Robo-Chef, and save the day while sometimes accompanied by friends, like Ninja-Rina and Brainstormer.

## Production

In 2006, soon after the release of Cloud Boy, Rhode Montijo came up with a pink female character, The Gumazing Gum Girl, which was an elastic gum superheroine. The series is originally going to made as a picture book, but the story was too big. In the early 2010s, Montijo decided to make the series into the graphic novels, but the publisher asked him if it would be better if the series were chapter books. So, he decided to make the series into chapter books instead.

## Early Concept

### Gum Girl Comics and Sketches

* Some scenes in the final version, like Mrs. Gomez punishing Gabby, wasn't shown in the early version of the series.
* In the early version, Gum Girl said "How am I going to explain this to my mom? She hated that I always chewed gum, now *I am* gum!" However, in the final version, she did not.
* The purse thief had a slightly different design.
* The font in the early version was Comic Sans rather than Grilled Cheese BTN. Unused line from the series.

### Gum Girl Drawings

* Gum Girl was in the darker shade of pink.

### Gum Girl Gumball Machine

* The series' logo had a different design or font.
* Gum Girl was in the slightly darker shade of pink.
* The font is once again Comic Sans.

### Details of Gum Girl Stretch and Transformation

* The series' logo had a different design.
* Gabby's bow is white instead of pink.
* Gum Girl was in the slightly darker shade of pink

## Reception

### Awards

The first Gumazing Gum Girl book, "Chews Your Destiny", won the Sequoyah Book Awards in 2016.

### Critical response

The book series was published to immediate critical mixed-to-positive acclaim. Some reviewers praised the book series as an exciting way to learn to read in English and in Spanish, particularly compared to the primers that it supplanted. Kirkus Reviews noted the book series' heavy use of humor and sequences. Kirkus wrote, "Perfectly paced and bursting with laughs....". BCCB wrote, "...a welcome addition to the ranks of early-elementary superkids."

## International

 Mexico
 Andorra
 South Korea

## Animated TV Show Adaptation

*Main article:* *The Gumazing Gum Girl!* (TV Series)

In 2021, according to Nancy Cartwright, DreamWorks Animation and CRE84U Entertainment are developing an animated show based on the series.