David McKee, the British author and illustrator known for his children’s books including a series featuring a patchwork elephant named Elmer, has died at 87, the Guardian reports.

McKee, a native of Devon, England, made his literary debut in 1964 with Two Can Toucan, and followed that up four years later with Elmer the Patchwork Elephant; dozens of books featuring the cheerful pachyderm would follow, including Elmer Again, Elmer and Wilbur, Elmer’s Special Day, and Elmer and the Birthday Quake.

In a 2020 interview with Writers & Artists, McKee talked about the origins of his beloved elephant character.

“Elmer started with the image before I had the story,” he said. “Then the name came. Then the story came as if he told me his story.”

McKee’s admirers paid tribute to him on social media. On Twitter, author and illustrator James Mayhew wrote, “Very sad to hear that the legendary David McKee has died. Such a gentle, modest, generous man, who leaves an astonishing legacy, covering themes of acceptance & pacifism, as relevant today as ever.”

And book critic Imogen Russell Williams tweeted, “David McKee’s work, full of bold flat colour and subversive wit, is simply unforgettable—from Not Now, Bernard’s unnerving hilarity to Elmer’s empathetic warmth, his books have enriched small readers for decades. Desperately sad to lose another wonder of the illustration world.”

Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.