SOLVED. Children's book - Angry, stumpy, goblin creatures catch fire and set trees on fire when too angry or too hot [s]

[Hannah]

Children's hardback fiction book with some sketch type illustrations (similar to Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak) where short, stumpy, spiky, angry creatures would set trees and other things on fire when they get too hot. I think their bodies get too hot and fiery or they have fire coming off their back, something along those lines. So someone builds them a huge tub/pool on stilts full of water so they can swim and cool down and not burn anything.

That's all I remember of the storyline, the book didn't have a dust jacket and was plain, maybe dark green coloured (don't quote me on this!). Pre 1990's, possibly from 1980's or earlier, not sure.

Might be Australian/New Zealand author since I read it as a child in New Zealand but then again it might not be!

[Tab]

Hannah, was this a fully illustrated picture book? Or, were the illustrations scattered throughout the book?

Were the illustrations in color?

[Hannah]

I'm having trouble remembering these details. I think there was a picture on each page or every few pages like there was quite a bit of text, it was in the young fiction section at school but it wasn't very advanced reading. And I seem to remember the pictures being black and white, pen drawings. But now that I think about it more, they were probably colour.

[Hannah]

I still haven't had any luck so far, still looking!

[Hannah]

The only other memory I have managed to vaguely piece together is that this may have been part of a series of just a collection of short stories about these creatures in one book.

[Hannah]

I'm thinking maybe the good creatures that made the water tub were something like the Wombles

[Tab]

There is a Wombles series.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/8020...

I'm not sure if the goblin creatures are in the story. The series does have black and white illustrations.

[Hannah]

It wasn't Wombles it was the Gumbles! So close! xD

Turns out it's the Australian version of the Wombles: The Gumbles and Bottersnikes series