Eric Hill, who has died aged 86, was the writer and illustrator of the Spot the Dog books for young children, which have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide.
Hill's first book was not just an immediate success; it became a staple of children's literature for decades. Where's Spot?, a simple lift-the-flap picture book with a puppy at the heart of every picture, was published in 1980.
Among its successors were Spot Goes to School (1984) and Spot Goes on Holiday (1985); Spot's adventures were translated into 60 languages and were followed by adaptations for television and DVD and all kinds of merchandising.
The idea for Spot came from close to home. The puppy first appeared in the bedtime stories that Hill told his son, Christopher, born in 1976. When it came to writing the story down, he drew on an advertising flier he had created, which had a flap that lifted up to reveal something amusing. In the children’s books it became a way of telling a story about Spot who, within a very domestic interior, simply sets off to search for his missing ball. At each wrong location, a surprise is revealed.
Hill was born in Holloway, north London, where he also went to school. His first job, at 16, was as a messenger in an art studio, where he was encouraged to draw in his spare time. He later moved into advertising, eventually becoming European creative director for an agency which folded just four weeks later, prompting him to go freelance.
Amiable and warm-hearted, Hill put much of himself into his work. When Spot cries “Yippee!” on Christmas Day, he said, “that’s me in there ... Subconsciously, I see things from the dog’s point of view, so Spot is within me.”
He is survived by his widow, Gillian, Christopher and a daughter, Jane, from his first marriage, to Barbara, which ended in divorce.