Uncle

If you think Babar is the only storybook elephant with a cult following, then you haven’t met Uncle, the presiding pachyderm of a wild fictional universe that has been collecting accolades from children and adults for going on fifty years. Unimaginably rich, invariably swathed in a magnificent purple dressing-gown, Uncle oversees a vast ramshackle castle full of friendly kooks while struggling to fend off the sneak attacks of the incorrigible (and ridiculous) Badfort Crowd. Each Uncle story introduces a new character from Uncle’s madcap world: Signor Guzman, careless keeper of the oil lakes; Noddy Ninety, an elderly train conductor and the oldest student of Dr. Lyre’s Select School for Young Gentlemen; the proprietors of Cheapman’s Store (where motorbikes are a halfpenny each) and Dearman’s Store (where the price of an old milk jug goes up daily); along with many others. But for every delightful friend of Uncle, there is a foe who is no less deliriously wicked. Luckily the misbegotten schemes of the Badfort Crowd are no match for Uncle’s superior wits.

Quentin Blake’s quirky illustrations are the perfect complement to J.P. Martin’s stories, each one of a perfect length for bedtime reading. Lovers of Roald Dahl and William Steig will rejoice in Uncle’s wonderfully bizarre and happy world, where the good guys always come out on top, and once a year, everybody, good and bad, sits down together for an enormous Christmas feast.

J. P. Martin (1880-1966) was born in Scarborough in 1880. He was the son and grandson of Methodist ministers, and entered the ministry in 1902. He served as an Army chaplain in the First World War in Palestine. His published his Uncle stories at the urging of his children, for whom he created. After the last war, he moved to the village of Timberscombe in Somerset, where he served in the small chapel. Six Uncle books were published in the series, the last in 1973, seven years after his death.

Quentin Blake (1932-- ) is one of Britain's best-loved and most successful illustrators and children's authors. He has illustrated nearly 300 books. He has also illustrated classic books for adults, and created his own characters such as Mister Magnolia and Mrs Armitage. He taught at the Royal College of Art, where he was head of the Illustration Department from 1978 to 1986. He has won many awards and prizes, and was made an CBE in 2005. He as appointed the first Children's Laureate in 1999.