Toot and Puddle Turn Ten

by Sally Lodge, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 5/31/2007

One is an intrepid world explorer. The other is a contented homebody. Both have endeared themselves to countless young readers over the past decade. Best porcine pals Toot and Puddle have starred in 10 tales by Holly Hobbie, which have a total of 1.5 million copies in print. In celebration of their 10th birthday, Little, Brown is publishing an anniversary edition of Toot & Puddle, the introductory book in the series, which won an ABBY award. Due in June, this volume will have a 50,000-copy print run. Redesigned in a 10 x 10-inch trim size to match the later books in the series, this commemorative edition includes a limited-edition poster.

Before penning her first Toot and Puddle book, the author had created a successful line of Holly Hobbie greeting cards for American Greetings, featuring her signature blue-bonneted girl. That character then came to life as a rag doll, and other dolls created for various markets followed.

Megan Tingley, v-p and publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, explains how Hobbie's transition to book author came about. "Holly was legendary for her dolls, but was eager to go in a new direction with her art work," says Tingley. "Fellow artist Jane Dyer referred her to Maria Modugno [then an editor at Little, Brown] and Maria worked with her to develop children's book ideas. Everyone in-house was astounded by Holly's virtuosic watercolors skills and saw potential in these two little pig characters she proposed. So we offered her a multi-book contract. We felt she could have a long life in the children's book world. And 10 years later, I guess we were right!"

Hobbie's 11th Toot & Puddle tale, Let It Snow, a holiday tale due in October, will be the final installment of the series, Tingley reports. "After 10 years, Holly loves these characters but feels she is ready once again to try something new. She is working on an exciting new idea, quite different from Toot & Puddle. While we are all very sad to say goodbye to these characters, we know that they will live on in the hearts of their millions of fans as well as generations of new readers to come."

The publisher is heralding these pig pals' 10th anniversary with considerable fanfare. "We are making 2007 'The Year of Toot & Puddle,' " says Elizabeth Eulberg, director of publicity for LBBYR. "We started off the year by sending out more than 1500 Toot & Puddle calendars to accounts, and then gave them away at ALA Midwinter." The house launched a national advertising campaign and created an in-store event kit. And this summer, young fans can meet these popular characters in the flesh—sort of. Newly created Toot and Puddle costumes will tour a dozen stores to take part in birthday celebrations.

One retailer who will welcome these costumed characters to her store is Amy Baum, events coordinator at The Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minn. "We are delighted to have them here," she states, noting that two staffers who are "very good sports" will don the costumes. At the July event, two professional storytellers will act out the books, which Baum says "have a good, solid following at our store. The characters are admired for being good friends who are nice to one another even though they are very different."

And at TreeHouse Books in Holland, Mich., owner Michelle Lonergan is also eager to host a party featuring these costumed characters. "When we heard these costumes were going to be available, we couldn't resist," she states. "Toot and Puddle are just about our favorite characters in the store and we handsell them all the time. At our party, we will read a different Toot & Puddle story every 15 minutes and we'll have crafts and snacks."

At Lonergan's store, there is another reason—in addition to their on-the-page appeal—that these characters are all the rage. In residence at the store are two pet rabbits, lucky enough to be named Toot and Puddle. "I think they contribute quite a lot to the success of the books here," she remarks. "Even though they are rabbits rather than pigs, kids definitely make the connection."