The man who had tried to get away from it all suddenly realised how small this world is.

As he walked into a remote South American village on the banks of the Amazon, he marvelled how someone had managed to rig a satellite link and connect it to an old television set.

When he saw a group of children watching the television, he gave a cursory glance at the programme. He gasped. There, beaming into the Amazonian jungle, was Kipper, who like Spot the Dog before him, is one of the most famous "characters" in pre-school children's literature in the UK.

But that wasn't why he had gasped. Kipper (a line-drawn tan and white dog with big "ah" appeal) is the creation of his son-in-law, Mick Inkpen, and the last thing he expected to see so far from home.

"My father-in-law had just retired and was doing all sorts of extreme things," declared Mr Inkpen. "He had gone to the Amazon as he thought that is about as far removed from England as you can get. Then he saw Kipper coming out of the that television."

He grinned.

"I would love to have seen his face."

Mick Inkpen brought Kipper into the world in 1990. His first appearance had been in 1989 in Mr Inkpen's first big hit, The Blue Balloon. Then, he had walked on four legs and had a very supporting role. A year later, he was upright and a star in the making.

Today, he is that star. Kipper books have sold millions of copies worldwide, there has been a spin-off cartoon series for ITV - which was sold to the American TV cable station, Nickelodeon, hence Kipper's appearance in the Amazon - and children can't get enough of him.

Tomorrow, Kipper turns 18. He will be able to vote, drink, get a credit card, take out a mortgage...

"I hadn't thought of it that way," said Mr Inkpen, after he had sidestepped the image of Kipper drinking a pint of beer, "because Kipper is ageless. He has to be. He is aimed specifically at two to six-year-olds, so while the stories develop, Kipper doesn't."

Kipper put Mick Inkpen on the map. He also helped the family (wife, Debbie, and children Simon, now 27, and Chloë, 25) big time in their move from Romford to a near-perfect 1930s' house in Nayland on the Essex-Suffolk border. But even better than the near-perfect house are the gardens. Standing outside Mr Inkpen's studio, you get an acre's-worth of lawn, trees, perennials and evergreens all overlooking the Stour Valley. Even with the grey clouds, that view really does take the breath away.

"Yes, much of this is down to Kipper," smiled Mr Inkpen, "although at the beginning, Debbie and I had no idea he would become so popular.

"I can't give you a concrete reason why kids love him so much. He wasn't based on a real dog - in fact, we don't have a dog, just a 12-year-old rabbit called Bertie - but I did want him to be appealing. As for the name, I do remember wanting to get the right balance between quirkiness and familiarity."

He succeeded on both counts. For a jobbing graphic artist, he hasn't done too badly at all. But, despite his success, he still doesn't see himself as an illustrator. He is a writer who stages "little dramas" - usually featuring Kipper for pre-school children.

"I suppose my stories are childlike without being childish," he said.

"I am quietly confident writing for pre-school kids because they do not aspire to be older than they are. Writing for adults? Adults don't float my boat, I'm afraid."

Kipper's creator isn't the only children's author in the Inkpen household. Mrs Inkpen has written and illustrated three books about a Russian hamster called Harriet, and Chloë, currently in her final year at Glasgow School of Art, has just won the national Macmillan Prize, which is awarded annually to an art student for children's book illustration, and Simon is a graphic artist in London.

So art, in one way or another, plays a big part in this family. It all began when Mr Inkpen worked as a graphic artist at a company where one of the founders was Nick Butterworth, now also a well-known children's writer, close friend and very near neighbour.

"I worked on all sorts of campaigns," he said. "Later, I got involved in writing a series of strip cartoons for the Sunday Express - I think Rupert the Bear was having a rest - and that is when I thought, yes, it would be good to write for young children."

There will be no birthday celebrations for Kipper, but he will be getting a present of sorts. The next Kipper book - Hide Me, Kipper - will introduce a new, as yet unnamed, friend, a cat.

I glanced at a drawing of a cat who appears to be heading for all sorts of scrapes.

"Asbo," I declared. "You know - antisocial behaviour order."

Funnily enough, he didn't rubbish the idea.