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. 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.

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 published his Uncle stories at the urging of his children. After the last war, he moved to the village of Timberscombe in Somerset, where he served in the small chapel until his death.

Quentin Blake is one of Britain’s best-loved and most successful illustrators and children’s authors. He has illustrated nearly 300 books, won many awards and prizes, and was made a CBE in 2005. He was appointed the first Children’s Laureate in 1999.