Dev Petty is the author of the new children's picture book Don't Lose Mr. Cuddles (Life Lessons from Chip the Dog). Her other books include Don't Eat Bees. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Q: What inspired you to write this new book about Chip the Dog, a character in two of your previous books?
A: Well, Chip is a really fun character to write so no one has to twist my arm to write another Chip book. I literally write Chip when I'm in a salty mood and it helps.
BUT! To answer your question, I was just remembering my own Mr. Cuddles as a kid. Mine was a stuffed koala made out of rabbit fur for heaven's sake! (I know, ew). But I loved that koala. I left it behind at a cabin the day before having surgery when I was 8 and my dad had to drive six hours round trip to get it to me before being wheeled into the OR.
These relationships can be so meaningful, and also really fertile ground for a silly book about a silly dog. It's just so much fun and I love that his name is Mr. Cuddles.
Q: What do you think Mike Boldt’s illustrations add to the story?
A: Mike is such an extraordinary illustrator (and writer too...and really extra super nice guy also) so it's difficult to even put into words what he adds. Dimension, organization, movement.
But Mike's gift is really in creating characters and I feel like Chip may be my favorite. He's earnest, silly, a little unpredictable. The great joy of writing Chip books is knowing Mike will find some way to make whatever crazy thing I throw at him work, so there's a lot of freedom in that as a writer.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between Chip and Mr. Cuddles?
A: Of course with Mr. Cuddles being an inanimate object, this relationship is a little one-sided. But as we all know from being kids ourselves or having kids, or teaching kids, the relationship with one's special stuffy can be quite deep.
While Chip loves Mr. Cuddles, one also gets the sense he might love him a bit too much: “I did accidentally chew seven holes in him.” One of my favorite spreads, Mike's too I think, is Chip talking about his other toys and how they are all very fine, but not Mr. Cuddles and I feel that.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?
A: I don't want to give away the little twist at the ending, but it does speak to friendship and setting aside your needs for others, though I hope it does so in a fun, slightly subversive, and silly way.
I suppose I hope kids will just take some time to reflect on what it is they love so much about their special stuffy, because that relationship can be really deep and nurturing and safe. Maybe kids will be inspired to write a little about their own Mr. Cuddles.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm a writer who does much more thinking and musing and experimenting than actual writing. I mull ideas for a long time before I put anything to paper. So summer is often more an idea generating time than a writing one.
I just sold a couple of books I'm very excited about. They're a little different for me and it's been fun to stretch myself. I look forward to being able to share about them because they're really reflective of the books I want to be writing.
I have another Mike Boldt book coming out this fall, the followup to Elmore the Christmas Moose, called Elmore's Big Christmas Rescue. And next year I have a bunch of books coming out. I'm grateful to be busy.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I suppose I'd just offer that it really is hard, for all writers and artists and creative people right now. There's so much going on in the world, it can feel hard to take artistic risks, it can be hard to even think straight! But when things are so bonkers, it's also all the more important to center around ideas and art. It's exactly what the world needs.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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