It always makes us so happy to hear from folks who love “Mr. Dog’s Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn.” Every now and then, we even hear from readers who have their own personal history with Albert Bigelow Paine's tale. To know that our new edition of Paine's story, with Adam's illustrations, honors their cherished childhood memories and family traditions is a source of great pride and joy. Most recently, we heard from a father and his grown son… Randy B: “It was a great pleasure for me when my son recently brought me a copy of your magnificent printing of “Mr. Dog’s Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn.”  This is a tradition in our family, [...] something that has...

Read more →

Christmas 2016 is now far behind us. It’s sad, but true. The spirit of Christmas though—the values of joy, generosity, and spending quality time with loved ones—that’s something worth keeping alive all year long. So today we wanted to share some ideas to keep your Christmas cheer burning bright in the new year. Get a present for yourselfDid you get everything you ever wanted this Christmas? As an adult, the gift-giving aspect of Christmas ramps up considerably and the gift-receiving…. Well, shall we say it tapers a little? So get yourself something no one thought of, like a book you’ve had your eye on, or maybe one of the awesome classes over at Creativebug. (Like Mr. Crow with his extra...

Read more →

Sometimes I question whether the work I’ve chosen is worthwhile, important, valuable. Mr. Dog's Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn being part of the work I do, and this time of year being “Mr. Dog High Season,” and things being the way they've been lately, the worthiness question has been on my mind this week. I started this project to share a story that is very simple but profoundly meaningful to me. In that sense, Mr. Dog feels like my artwork, even though I’m neither the author nor the illustrator. Despite those lofty creative feelings, there have been many days since I started the project, over three years ago, that I’ve questioned the value of my efforts. There are things happening...

Read more →

Though I grew up loving Albert Bigelow Paine’s “Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn,” it wasn’t until later in life that I learned of the existence of three volumes of Hollow Tree stories, a generous series featuring all the familiar characters from the Christmas tale—and many, many more. As I became familiar with Paine's series, I was a little surprised to learn that Mr. Dog wasn’t always on such great terms with the Hollow Tree folks. If you only know Mr. Dog and friends through our book, you’re kind of in the same boat I was. Maybe you’ve wondered about that line “You see, Mr. Dog liked them all now…”. It certainly gives a clue that there’s a backstory, doesn’t...

Read more →

Goodness gracious, how the time does fly! I've been meaning to share these fun photos of us with Mr. Dog at the Bay Area Book Festival, which happened across the bay in Berkeley, California, back in June.  We transformed a rather bland little 8x8 foot square into a proper Hollow Tree celebration in record time, early on a Saturday morning, and spent the next two days meeting and greeting Mr. Dog fans new and old.  Our photobooth with lifesize Mr. Dog was a big hit! The Hollow Tree Bulletin Board was replete with the latest news and offerings from Mr. Dog and friends. Our gorgeous book was beautifully displayed with Deep Woods trimmings. Did anyone contact Mr. Crow for lessons?!...

Read more →