Topsy & Tim creator, Jean Adamson dies
The creator of enduring children’s book series, Topsy & Tim, Jean Adamson, sadly passed away on Sunday 15th December in Cambridgeshire with her family around her.
Her creations – written along with husband Gareth – were an amazing success, developing beyond the page to an animated and then live action TV series, and involving the twins going to a farm, having a birthday party, meeting the police and lots more. The series has sold over 25 million copies
Jean’s books had already been in print for decades when in 1999 Jo Davies interviewed her for the AOI’s Illustrator magazine, and here we offer the opportunity to read that article in its original form.
Topsy & Tim – their 90s facelift
Jo Davies
There are enduring classics within the vast field of children’s book illustration which succeed in entertaining and informing young children from one generation to the next. E. H. Shepherd’s characters from Wind in the Willows have delighted for almost 100 years. Kathleen Hale’s Orlando continues to enchant and Jean de Brunhoffs Babar the Elephant amuses; their properties qualify them as stalwart leaders in the tradition of excellence in this area. Picture books entertain and edify an enquiring young mind. It is through their pages that young children can first see their world depicted and begin to understand the complexity of existence and locate themselves safely within it. The family, seasons, everyday routines, the home; themes which help a child to order the chaos of reality.
These are some of the subjects covered within the highly successful series of books Topsy and Tim. It is more than 40 years since Jean and Gareth Adamson, a team of illustrator and writer, commenced the journey which documents the lives of these imaginary playful twins whose everyday experiences in the park, at the zoo, at the doctors, are presented to young children as a series of adventures. Jean Adamson, the illustrator, recalls their early experience of conceiving the idea.
See the images below for the full article.
Article reproduced by kind permission of Jo Davies
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