Mr Benn celebrates 50 years with summer of activity

Activity includes early release of new books for independent book shops, Positively Putney initiative, David McKee exhibition and new products.

Andersen Press is readying a raft of activity to help celebrate 50 years of Mr Benn across the summer.

To start with, independent book shops will benefit from an early release of Mr Benn: 123456789 and Mr Benn: Big Top as part of Independent Bookshop Week.

In addition, the company has partnered with Positively Putney – the business improvement district for Putney in South West London – on an exclusive trail featuring Mr Benn art by David McKee to encourage people to explore the town centre and its range of businesses.

The character will be popping up in his different guises throughout the summer, with the family walking tour appearing from 25 June. There will be 16 life-size Mr Benns around Putney in different outfits.

On top of that the David McKee retrospective, Elmer and Friends, featuring original art from the Mr Benn Books, and original film cells and designs from the animated series, moves from Henley’s River and Rowing Museum to Barnsley’s Cooper Gallery in July.

The exhibition was created by Seven Stories the National Centre for children’s books in Newcastle to celebrate the Elmer 30th anniversary in 2019, and will continue to tour the UK into 2022.

Factory Films – which is the rights holder to the classic Mr Benn TV series – also has a range of new products launching this summer. This includes a special edition DVD of the original series, Mr Benn bowler hats and a range of Mr Benn 50p coins from Westminster Collection, both silver coins and limited edition multi-colour versions.

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