The perfectly pampered world of Fuddles comes screeching to a halt when Puddles, a new puppy, joins the family, and Fuddles schemes of ways to get rid of him and return to his charmed life.
I grew up in Holland, playing soccer and drawing cartoons. I was eleven when my family immigrated to America. Speaking no English, where language failed me, drawing helped me communicate. When I was thirteen I was invited to visit the Disney Studio, and was encouraged to make my own animated films. Comic books and animation became a passion, which eventually led to a job at the Disney studio. Since then I’ve worked on such films as “Frozen,” “The Princess and The Frog,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” “The Road To El Dorado,” and most recently, “Mary Poppins Returns.”
Music and old movies help put me in a creative mood, letting my mind wander off and spark ideas. Entertaining my kids with bedtime stories inspired me to write children’s books. At Disney I was taught to observe the world around me for inspiration, so I always keep sketchbooks handy for doodling at airports or doctor’s waiting rooms. Our very fat and funny cat inspired a series of picture books called Fuddles.
What inspired this book?
This story was inspired by a puppy our family adopted. Our cat, (the original inspiration for Fuddles,) was not happy having to share the house, which he considered his private domain. His girth being double the puppy’s, he bossed the little dog around. But several months later the roles had reversed. Part of my challenge was showing the puppy in phases grow into a full-grown dog.