Great-Grandpa Fussy and the Little Puckerdoodles

About The Illustrator: Yukiko Mishima

Mardo & Yukiko

"The author is 94 and the illustrator is 24, but the stories are timeless." - BOOKVIEWS, Alan Caruba

Yukiko Mishima, born in Hiroshima, Japan, and a recent graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, found Mardo Williams' stories appealing. And so the intergenerational, intercultural partnership began.

The Little Puckerdoodles
Mardo's Great-Grandchildren
(left to right), Katie (Toodlebug), Daniel (Weenie), Holly (Teenie), Christopher (Waddles)

After Great-Grandpa Fussy had gone to press, Yukiko traveled to Ohio to meet Mardo and the family that was his inspiration.

Yukiko wrote about the visit: "If there was a place to call heaven, it was there. For months while working on the book based on the Puckerdoodle family, I imagined what they were actually like. When I finally met them, it was amazing! The Puckerdoodles were so kind to me. They were exactly how I pictured them in my mind. Katie (Toodlebug) took me to the kid's playroom. I almost cried. All the stories told in the book were playing in my head."

She added, "It was very challenging for me to finish a sixty-four page children's book. This many illustrations is a feat in itself especially due to the fact it was my first book."

Her second children's book, Hayaoki No Okurimono (A Present From Early Spring) won the Fine Prize for illustration from the International Institute for Children's Literature in Osaka.

Yukiko Mishima is a multi-talented artist who was chosen to design a bank in Hiroshima. She has produced and sold her own line of greeting cards, calendars, and puzzles, and in a recent national competition was one of six students awarded a summer internship with a large greeting card company in Cleveland. The goal of her illustrations is to make people happy and give them a little moment of rest. She is also a professional wedding cake designer. One of her dreams is to study pastry in Paris.

Mardo's great-grandchild Holly

A book party honoring Mardo and Yukiko was held May 2000 in New York City at Hayato Gallery and Salon. Yukiko's original illustrations for Great-Grandpa Fussy were on display, along with autographed copies of the book. Mardo brought his oldest great-grandchild Holly (Teenie Puckerdoodle) to the event. She also was asked to autograph books.

Yukiko (aka Maro) is currently working in computer animation in Tokyo, where she also designs her own line of dinnerware and calendars, and creates wonderful, whimsical paintings that she offers for sale.


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