Peet Ellison, the creator of Timbertwig, recalls that Timbertwig began life as a face, looking back at him from a piece of knotty wood, and went on to be his most enduring and loved creation. His first public appearance was in Story Teller magazine, published fortnightly by Marshall Cavendish and narrated by George Layton . His adventures spread across the globe, as children delighted in the mischievous adventures of Tirondin, Bastoncello, Palintroque and many other translations.

The tales of Timbertwig, his magical spider Abigail, and the antics of bumbling Granny Knot, add up to a series of tales set in Wiggly Wood are still amusing and entertaining readers young and old.

Timbertwig was ‘discovered’ when Peet Ellison noticed the patterns on some wood. The shape of the grain became the inspiration for the tall pointy hats, while the knots suggested eyes.

The name Timbertwig was the family nickname for his brother David, and it just seemed to be the perfect fit for the character.

As for Granny Knot, well hopefully the name is obvious, but perhaps the British love of word play was sometimes lost in translation. Her beautiful ‘runny’ nose was also inspired by the shape of the grain.

Abigail the magical spider came later.

Timbertwig first appeared in the first series of Story Teller (1983), a partwork published by Marshall Cavendish. Three episodes were originally commissioned: Timbertwig; Timbertwig and the Caravan of Surprises; and Timbertwig Gets a New Hat (appearing in parts 5, 6 and 7 of the partwork respectively) but because of Timbertwig’s popularity, two more were added later that year, appearing in part 22 (Timbertwig Catches a Marrow) and part 23 (Timbertwig’s Birthday). A festive episode also appeared in Christmas Story Teller (Timbertwig’s Christmas Tree), with Timbertwig even making it to the cover page! All episodes were narrated by George Layton.

The original five episodes were included in a hardback compilation called A Treasury of Goodnight Stories (1988) while the Christmas episode was included in a Christmas anthology, Christmas Story Book (1988).

In 2016, South African publisher Human & Rousseau released Timbertwig’s New Adventures, a 96-page book containing four new stories. It came with an unabridged audio CD, with Susanne Beyers as the narrator. The episodes were entitled Timbertwig and the Disappearing Eyebrows; Timbertwig and the Itchy Circus; Timbertwig and the Troublesome Eggs; and Timbertwig and the Fallen Star. The book went on to be nominated as a finalist for the prestigious MER Prize for illustrated children’s fiction.

Members of the Story Teller Facebook Group started to produce the annual Story Teller: Members’ Edition (STME) in 2020 with the blessing of Eaglemoss which was then copyright owner of Story Teller. Peet Ellison wrote a Timbertwig episode for STME 2020 (Timbertwig and the Dancing Clothes) and STME 2022 (Timbertwig and the Talent Show). George Layton was brought back to narrate Dancing Clothes and then Peter Jones took over for Talent Show.

There are also two web exclusive episodes. The first, Timbertwig and the Vanishing Spider (2017), was the result of a competition run on the Facebook Group in which members were invited to submit titles for a new Timbertwig adventure. It was narrated by Peter Jones. The second web exclusive story, Timbertwig and the Christmas Toast, appeared on Peet Ellison’s official website and it was also narrated by Peter.

Narrated by George Layton

• Timbertwig
• Timbertwig and the Caravan of Surprises
• Timbertwig Gets a New Hat
• Timbertwig Catches a Marrow
• Timbertwig’s Birthday
• Timbertwig’s Christmas Tree
• Timbertwig and the Dancing Clothes

Narrated by Susanne Beyers

• Timbertwig and the Disappearing Eyebrows
• Timbertwig and the Itchy Circus
• Timbertwig and the Troublesome Eggs
• Timbertwig and the Fallen Star

Narrated by Peter Jones

• Timbertwig and the Christmas Toast
• Timbertwig and the Talent Show
• Timbertwig and the Vanishing Spider
• Timbertwig and the Wiggly Wood Sock Festival