Beebo and Mop

[pyat]

We had two of these when I was quite small. They were absolutely wonderful, full of delightful images and heartbreaking dreams. If you find these books, buy them at once. Or give them to me.

Summary from a blog named for the main character:

"Beebo is a character in a series of children’s books... Each book starts with Beebo, his buddy Mop, and Mop’s hamster Hector arriving in an unfamiliar town. They work hard and well, whilst keeping mostly to themselves. In his spare time Beebo builds wonderful things out of junk—an enormous pipe organ, a mechanical fire-breathing dragon, an automatic fence-builder.

By about the middle of each book, Beebo and Mop become happy, if not rich … at which point trouble strikes: in the first book their ramshackle mansion finds itself in the middle of a apartment construction zone; in the second, Beebo wakes up one day to find his face on billboards all over town, his stolen image being used to sell soft-drink; in the third Beebo and Mop are expelled from an angry and nameless authoritarian principality for having no visa, no identity card, and no passport.

In each book, Beebo and Mop get f***ed by the state... The third book is particularly bleak—it ends with Beebo and Mop growing smaller and smaller as they descend into earth."

Comments

[pyat.livejournal.com]

Maybe I'm confusing it with another childhood book, but the first cover is giving me major deja vu.

You are not confused in this instance!