"As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared ..." Mr Benn is set to put his bowler hat back on and return to the fancy dress shop as a publishing company prepares to bring his adventures back into print this autumn.

Unavailable for 30 years, David McKee's much-loved books – on which the cult television series was based – are being rereleased by Tate Publishing. The first title, out in September, will be Big-Top Benn, in which the character chooses a clown's costume at the fancy dress shop and is transported to the world of the circus. The three other original Mr Benn books – Mr Benn: Red Knight, 123456789 Benn and Big Game Benn – will be republished next year.

"Mr Benn has been a part of my life since 1965, but it feels as though he's always been there," said McKee, 75, the author of more than 100 children's books including King Rollo and Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. "Over the years public reaction to him has been very rewarding. The fact that Tate has published him in his original form is really the icing on the cake."

Tate publishing director Roger Thorp said he hoped the books would bring Mr Benn to "a whole new generation". The publisher is pitching the titles both at "those old enough to remember them first time around who have grown up to become aficionados of quality in children's illustration and to young readers encountering Mr Benn's unique charms for the first time".

The first Mr Benn book, Mr Benn: Red Knight – in which he dons his bowler hat and leaves Number 52, Festive Road for a costume shop, tries on a suit of armour and travels to medieval times – was published in 1967. It led to the BBC commissioning McKee to write a series for television, which was shown in the early 1970s.

Thorp was inspired to bring the books back into print after seeing a display of McKee's work at a gallery. Loving the Mr Benn books and the television series as a child, he enquired about the books' availability and was surprised but delighted to discover that republishing rights in the titles were available.

He praised the "superb skill" of McKee's artwork. "At that time it was costly to have full colour throughout a children's book, so you would have colour on one spread, and black and white on the next. He exploited this with incredibly intricate designs on each spread," he said.

Next year, the 40th anniversary of the Mr Benn television series is being marked in various ways, from a touring theatre show by Tall Stories, starting in May, to a Mr Benn opera from composer Stephen McNeff and opera singer Andy Morton, and a computer game from Dragonray studios.

"It's amazing how it lives on in the memory," said Thorp. "There's an age range who love and remember it ; as soon as the music comes on you remember it ... Hopefully these books are something parents will be pleased to introduce to their children, as well as get for themselves."

Mr Benn is not the only nostalgic publishing out this autumn: Elisabeth Beresford's Wombles books, out of print for 10 years, are being reissued by Bloomsbury from November.