This idea was just the beginning of a story, which would go through a couple of versions before it fell into place. I did not rush to my studio and immediately sketch out the story. Of course, this required a novel approach to the way the brain is connected to the digestive system. The personality of the dog, plus Niko’s question, immediately suggested a visual image of the soup letters going into Martha’s mouth and up to her brain. It was his creative question-“Mom, if Martha-dog ate alphabet soup, would she speak?”-that put all the pieces together. ![]() Of course, Martha was right next to him, almost in his lap. My son, seven years old at the time, was sitting at the table eating alphabet soup. She had also found her first co-starring role with Helen in The Witches’ Supermarket. I had already put Martha in some of my children’s books, usually just slipping her into the background. I had the right occupation, the right child, the right dog and the perfect moment. I was writing and illustrating children’s books, and it was obvious that Martha needed a book of her own. She was smart, interesting, expressive, opinionated and very drawable. We named her after our friend Martha, who had been the one to call us, and was therefore responsible for our new addition to the family, however it might work out.įortunately, after a while, the essential Martha began to emerge. We wondered whether it had been a good idea to take her home. We were soon to discover that she wasn’t housebroken, and had a habit of eating the furniture. ![]() Martha was so skinny we could see her ribs, plus she had the whole flea population of eastern Massachusetts on her back.
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