Professor Branestawm

We were having dinner with some friends last night and the conversation got around to old children's books and tv shows we remembered from our childhood. Dave made some reference to someone being like Professor Brainstorm and I suddenly remembered the series of books I borrowed from our local library about this skatty professor character. It turns out Dave had been read the same books by his dad, but Graeme and Krista had never heard of them. I decided to do a search to this morning for some more details. After some confusion I worked out that it is actually spelt Branestawm, not Brainstorm. They were written by an actor called Norman Hunter and began life as plays on the radio. I found a few of the original illustrations online. Here is the professor himself:

You can read more about the books in the Hitch Hikers Guide

I remember really liking the books. I borrowed some of tapes from the library too and listened to them repeatedly. I wonder whether I was attracted to them because I liked science and inventions of if I liked the stories and they encouraged me to be interested in such things. I'd love to read them again. It does seem a bit self-indulgent to buy myself childrens books. I might have a look for them in town later. I could always save them for younger visitors to enjoy.