Babette Cole, anarchic creator of Princess Smartypants, dies at 66

The world of children’s publishing is in mourning after the death on Sunday of one of its brightest, most eccentric and anarchic characters, Babette Cole.

Children’s laureate Chris Riddell and Michael Rosen were among those to pay tribute to the author and illustrator, whose books include the 1986 classic of feminist fairytale revisionism, Princess Smartypants, which reimagined the archetypal girl heroine as a motorbiking tearaway. Riddell described the Jersey-born author, who died after a short illness at the age of 66, as unique.

“I met her at publishing parties and she was always so full of fun and dressed to the nines,” he said. “It was in keeping with the joyful wit of her work, exuberant, heartfelt and very funny. Princess Smartypants. We will all miss her.”

Cole’s anarchic sense of humour figured high in tributes from fellow writers. Former children’s laureate Rosen said Cole had broken new ground in writing about sex, death and gender with “books that come over first and foremost as incredible fun, full of laughs and craziness”.

“Clearly, behind this lay a belief that shame and self-blame were destructive forces and that we had everything to gain from being truthful, frank and equal in our dealings with each other,” he added.

Lucy Coats, who writes picture books as well as children’s novels, said: “Her wit, humour and dedication to breaking down the barriers of gender stereotyping will be much missed, as will her eccentric dress sense.”

Two years ago, Cole was left battered and bruised after she was trampled by a herd of cows. Recalling the attack, Grunts creator Philip Ardagh said: “Despite the seriousness of her injuries, it somehow felt so typical … if anyone was going to be attacked by cows it would be her.”

He added: “Her glorious drawing style made her illustrations easily identifiable at 50 paces and her stories – whether they were about where babies come from, death, bunnies or a princess called Smartypants – were clever and captivating, often covering important topics with accessible ease.”

News of her death was announced by Inky Sprat, the ebook publishing company she founded with Manus Home and Neil Baber in 2013. “We will dearly miss her, as will children around the world miss her wonderful, often irreverent, and always unique stories and illustrations,” the statement read.

Home said: “She was one of the great rulebreaking characters of children’s publishing. We are all just stunned at this news. She was very much the driving force of the business.”

The flamboyant author was known as much for her personal style as her funny books. On her blog, fellow children’s author and illustrator Sarah McIntyre, who presented a number of events with her, said: “She lived by her own set of rules. I was a bit scared of her – she might say or do anything, but I loved her.” She added: “She often left me dizzy and bewildered, but always laughing.”

Cole wrote and illustrated more than 70 children’s books. Dr Dog, about the Guimboyles’ family pet, who doubles as their physician, was adapted into a successful cartoon series. In 1986 she received the Kate Greenaway medal for Princess Smartypants, an honour she repeated with Prince Cinders in 1987.

Not one to shy away from difficult subjects, she helped parents broach tough subjects with their children. Mummy Laid an Egg, which covered sex education, was a “godsend to parents” Lucy Coats said. It was acclaimed illustrated book of the year at the 1994 British book awards.

After graduating from Canterbury College of Art, where she studied animation, Cole collaborated with Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate to create children’s BBC TV programmes including Bagpuss. She also worked on The Clangers and Basil Brush.

In 2015 she was commissioned to illustrate a 70th-anniversary edition of Enid Blyton’s classic The Famous Five: Five on a Treasure Island.

Passionate about horses, she owned a small stud farm in Devon, which bred multi-award winning show ponies, hunters and cobs.