With the Emirates Festival of Literature in town, we thought it would be fun to ask the team at Time Out GCC, which fictional characters they love most from their childhood.
From young wizards and Mr Men to cunning foxes and mice who fly planes, these are the book heroes and anti-heroes that inspired them.
Holly Sands, editorial director, Time Out Group
I devoured most of Jacqueline Wilson’s (90s published) books in primary school, but the character that stuck with me for the longest was Andy from The Suitcase Kid, a book about a young girl adapting to her divorced parents’ new families. (Relatable.) She also had a Sylvanian Families rabbit. (Jealous.)
Tom Oxtoby, deputy editor, Time Out GCC
It would have to be Fantastic Mr Fox for me. He was a wily character, and even though he was the hero of the tale, he was certainly not whiter than white. Call it a first introduction to the concept of flawed champions. Plus, Quentin Blake’s illustrations beat all newcomers in my opinion.
Colin Armstrong, digital editor, Time Out GCC
I always wanted to be Max from Where the Wild Things Are. Much like Max I was a buzzing tornado of a kid and would sometimes be mischievous – although not mean. I’d been sent to my room on more than one occasion. After I had my fun I always realised that maybe I was being cheeky and should apologise and this realisation is mirrored in the book when Max’s mum gives him his supper. Basically, you can’t always do what you want and even if you’re a little bit naughty your parents love you and they’re almost always right.
Kelly Johnstone, editor, Time Out UAE Kids
My absolute favourite character has to be Darrell Rivers from Enid Blyton’s classic boarding school series, Malory Towers. She is feisty, and brave and loyal to all her friends. In fact, she is the main reason I was so desperate to go to boarding school myself. We didn’t have quite so many midnight feasts, but we did have just as much drama.
Dianne Apen-Sadler, editor, Time Out Doha
One of my favourite books as a kid was Time Stops for No Mouse, and there was a mouse pilot in it named Linka Perflinger who was totally awesome and super mysterious. And Preston Pig from the classic Suddenly is another favourite. The way he outsmarts that wolf… what a legend!
Paul Clifford, group editor, Hospitality
I was a big fan of Mr Tickle. He created an enormous amount of chaos and used his arms forabsolute hilarity. Captain Haddock from Tintin was another stand-out for me. He was an angry bearded man who reminded me of my dad. And I also liked Obelix from Asterix and Obelix. He was the massive fella with pigtails. Never understood why I liked him so much.
