Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Fan Art from Wisconsin

To my delight, a classmate from college sent me photos of her two sons proudly displaying their drawings, having used their MY Daily Zoo Drawing Activity Books to get their creative juices flowin'. Nice work Ryan and Tommy!

This has been one of those unanticipated perks of having some books published. I've received interpretations of various Daily Zoo characters (and even a few cartoons of me!) from around the world. I'll try to share some more in future posts. 
It also reminded me of when, for a class assignment in grade school, we had to write a letter to an author or illustrator that we admired. I chose the amazing Bill Peet, a former Disney artist and the man behind over 30 wonderful children's books such as Hubert's Hair-Raising AdventureHow Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head, and one of my all-time favorites, The Whingdingdilly. (If you are not familiar with his work and are a fan of cartoon animals or a parent with young children, please give him a look.) In addition to my letter to Mr. Peet, I enclosed a few of my drawings and he was kind enough to make my day by responding with a short hand-written note and a few copies of his drawings, all of which I still have.

I don't consider myself to be on the same plateau as Mr. Peet (now deceased), but it is neat to feel like my work is contributing in a small way to that never-ending flow of one generation inspiring the next.

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