David McKee: an incredible career
David McKee, creator of Elmer and Not Now, Bernard, has won the 2020 BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award.
Funny, poignant, and always celebrating difference, David's books have entertained and inspired countless children over his long career, from patchwork elephants to magical costumes which transport their wearer into another world. Here's our top pick of David's collection.
Interview: David speaks to Emily Drabble about winning the Lifetime Achievement Award
What makes David so special: Authors and illustrators share what David's books mean to them
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Not Now, Bernard
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Not Now, Bernard
The classic tale of Bernard, whose distracted parents fail to notice that their son has been eaten and replaced by a monster.
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Mr Benn: Gladiator
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Mr Benn: Gladiator
Mr Benn tries on a Roman gladiator costume in his favourite costume shop and is magically transported back to Roman Britain! The E…
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King Rollo and King Frank
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King Rollo and King Frank
King Frank is coming to tea and King Rollo doesn’t like him: he’s bossy and he cheats. Yet when King Frank appears, Rollo and Fran…
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King Rollo and the Birthday
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King Rollo and the Birthday
It’s Queen Gwen’s birthday and King Rollo goes out to buy her a card. Yet when he brings it home, Cook doesn’t think much of it - …
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King Rollo and the Bread
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King Rollo and the Bread
King Rollo and his Magician meet a farmer who is about to sit down and eat some bread. Rollo wants to show off how clever his Magi…
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King Rollo and the New Shoes
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King Rollo and the New Shoes
King Rollo has new shoes, but they’re different to all the rest of his shoes because these have laces! The magician shows Rollo ho…
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Two Monsters
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Two Monsters
A red monster and a blue monster live on opposite sides of a rocky mountain: they can’t see each other, but they can argue through…
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The Conquerors
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The Conquerors
The General of a powerful country sends his troops into the last unconquered territory, but to their surprise, when they march acr…
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Melric and the Sorcerer
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Melric and the Sorcerer
The King wants Melric the magician, to make him more powerful. Melric keeps telling him that more power will not make him happier …
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Melric the Magician Who Lost His Magic
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Melric the Magician Who Lost His Magic
Melric, the King's magician, uses his magic to help everyone in the kingdom. But one day he wakes up to find his powers have disap…
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Elmer's Weather
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Elmer's Weather
Whatever the weather, Elmer the elephant always has fun
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Elmer and Butterfly
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Elmer and Butterfly
One day, as Elmer is strolling through the jungle, he hears Butterfly cry for help. Elmer rushes to her rescue, and in return, she…
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Elmer's Opposites
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Elmer's Opposites
This little book concentrates on introducing the concept of opposites, looking at differences in areas such as size, speed, emotio…
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Elmer’s Weather
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Elmer’s Weather
Everyone’s favourite patchwork elephant is experiencing all kinds of weather in this chunky board book for the very youngest book …
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Elmer's Day
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Elmer's Day
What does the world's favourite patchwork elephant do all day?
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Elmer and Snake
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Elmer and Snake
A group of mischievous elephants decide to play a trick on Elmer, the famous multicolour patchwork elephant, so they ask Snake for…
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Elmer's Friends
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Elmer's Friends
A colourful board book in which the ever-popular Elmer the Elephant praises each of his friends for their different strengths
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Elmer and the Hippos
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Elmer and the Hippos
This picturebook teaches readers about the importance of acceptance and working together and will provoke interesting classroom di…
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Elmer and Super El
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Elmer and Super El
Bold, colourful illustrations guide youngsters through a charming and humorous tale
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Elmer and the Lost Treasure
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Elmer and the Lost Treasure
Join Elmer and his elephant friends as they discover a beautiful temple in the jungle - will they find any lost treasure inside?
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Elmer’s Special Day
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Elmer’s Special Day
It's time for the annual Elmer's day celebrations and all the elephants are noisily painting themselves with wild colourful patter…
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Elmer and the Lost Teddy
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Elmer and the Lost Teddy
In this republication of a 1999 title, McKee shows young readers that we each have special things which nobody else loves quite as…
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Elmer and Papa Red
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Elmer and Papa Red
It is nearly time for the annual visit of Papa Red and the older elephants ask Elmer to amuse the youngsters while they prepare th…
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