A Man of Many Talents
It's not often that a person achieves national recognition in two careers but such was the case with Bill Peet. He was born in 1915 and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Family problems made his childhood a difficult one. Although Peet used to get in trouble for doodling in school, his interest in art was rewarded when he received an art scholarship to Herron Art Institute, which is now a part of Indiana University.In 1937, when he was 22 years old, Bill Peet began working for Walt Disney Studios. Despite clashes with Walt Disney, Peet stayed there for 27 years. While he started as an animator, Peet quickly became known for his ability to develop a story. Peet worked on such feature films as Fantasia, Song of the South, Alice in Wonderland, and The Jungle Book. He also wrote the script for the animated 101 Dalmatians. While still working at Disney, Peet began writing children's books. His first book was published in 1959. Unhappy with the way Walt Disney treated his employees, Peet finally left Disney Studios in 1964 to become a fulltime writer of children's books.
Children's Books by Bill Peet
Bill Peet's illustrations were at the heart of his stories. Even his autobiography for children is illustrated. Peet's love for animals and his sense of the ridiculous, coupled with a concern for the environment and for the feelings of others, make his books effective on several levels: as enjoyable stories and as gentle lessons on caring for the earth and getting along with one another. His clever illustrations, in pen and ink and colored pencil, often feature funny looking imaginary animals, like the wumps, the kweeks, and the fandangos. Many of Peet's 35 books are still available at public libraries and bookstores. A number of his books are award winners. His own story, Bill Peet: An Autobiography, was designated a Caldecott Honor book in 1990 in recognition of the quality of Peet's illustrations.While most of Peet's books are picture books, our family's favorite is Capyboppy, which is designed for intermediate readers and is 62 pages long. This entertaining book is the true story of the capybara who lived with the Peet family. We discovered the book, which has black and white drawings on every page, just at the time our local zoo acquired a capybarra and that gave it a good deal of extra meaning for us. Other children's books by Bill Peet include The Wump World, Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent, The Wingdingdilly, Chester, The Worldly Pig, The Caboose Who Got Loose, How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head and his last book, Cock-a-Doodle Dudley.
Bill Peet died on May 11, 2002 at the age of 87. However, his artistry lives on in his filmwork and his many books that have been enjoyed, and will continue to be enjoyed, by children in the United States and many other countries.
