Pierre Probst

Pierre Probst, children's writer and illustrator: born Mulhouse, France 6 December 1913; married (one daughter); died Suresnes, France 12 April 2007.

When in 1953 he created Caroline, the schoolgirl with the cute blue eyes, blonde bunches and red dungarees, the French author and illustrator Pierre Probst based the smart, resourceful character on his own mischievous daughter, Simone, rather than the boy his publishers Hachette expected. "She was a bit of a daredevil, the same age as the character, about seven," he would later tell interviewers before pointing out that he picked the name Caroline as a tribute to his grandmother, "a lovely old lady, who seemed to live on café au lait and aspirin, and would read whatever came to hand from morning till night".

Fittingly enough, millions of children, first in France and then around the world, were attracted by Probst's bright, lively colours and breezy style and eagerly read the adventures of Caroline and her pet friends which included cats (Smokey, Snowy), dogs (Binkie, Pip and Toffy), Shebo the lion cub and Broggie Bear. Caroline was a real tomboy and, even though she was perpetually about age seven, she didn't play with dolls; rather, she drove her own car, owned a second home and seemed free to travel around the world - Canada, Egypt, Russia, the United States, the North Pole - without any parental interference.

"I deliberately didn't give her any parents," stressed Probst: "She was independent and rather modern in her outlook. Caroline was not your typical little girl but she could get herself out of any kind of trouble. Her red dungarees created a bit of a stir because all the little French girls wore a dress or a skirt. She was a rather revolutionary character at the time."

Her proto-feminist qualities ensured Caroline's continuing popularity in an ever-changing world and explain why Probst carried on drawing her adventures in over 40 books. "I like kids. I like their spontaneity, their liveliness. I find all that marvellous," he said. The Caroline books have sold over 38 million copies in France and have been translated into 15 languages (the first to appear in English was Caroline Goes to Sea, 1954).

Born in 1913, Pierre Probst spent his schooldays doodling and drawing the animals he saw at the local zoo. His ornate and detailed style evolved while he was studying at art school in Mulhouse. After spending a couple of years drawing patterns, labels and packaging at the local mill where his family worked, he moved to Lyons, where he worked in advertising and created a cute little dog which helped establish the Suchard chocolate brand.

Drafted in 1939, he was taken prisoner but managed to escape and joined the Resistance. At the end of the Second World War, he moved to Paris, where he began illustrating children's books for Hachette and later collaborated with Enid Blyton on the adaptations of his early books into English. Published in 1953, Une Fête chez Caroline was an instant smash. In 1961, he created Tim and Poum, a rather unusual buddy pairing of a rabbit and a dog, while in 1966, he finally got round to drawing the adventures of a little boy called Fanfan, who was concerned with animal welfare and green issues, decades before les écolos even appeared in French life.

Probst worked from home, illustrating dozens of books for series like "La Vie Secrète des Bêtes" ("The Secret Life of Animals") and "La Vie Privée des Hommes" ("The Secret Life of Men"). A sprightly great-grandfather, he attended the Salon du Livre de Paris last month where he signed hundreds of copies of the latest Caroline book.

"Each one takes about three months to write and draw. I'm amazed my character lasted more than three generations," he said.

Pierre Perrone