What's in a Name?
You can tell how old this book is by the fact that the words stuck into the dummy book page below are from a typewriter. (Children, ask your parents what this is!) Also you can see that the main character was originally called Pingaling; when I thought of the phrase Cuddly Dudley I knew it was perfect because it was funny, it summed up his character and it had the added bonus of rhyming. I hope Dudley Moore didn’t mind. (Children, ask your parents…) This book ‘marks’ the first time I used marker pens (now a regular feature in the Duck books), however in the finished artwork I used a crayon line (as in Where’s My Teddy) which gives a softer feel to the illustrations.
We All Have Dudley Days
As for where the idea came from, I can only say that I have a memory of being on holiday and wanting to play with my older brother, but he didn’t want to play with me, he wanted to be on his own. I’m sure this is where the whole thing began. It seems to be a universal theme for both children and adults, as one reviewer observed: ‘we all have Dudley days.’