Additional information
by Emily Puterbaugh (Illustrator), Tami J. Whitmore (Author)
It all started when Tami and her husband, Outback Jack, visited Cranmac Farms during cranberry harvest about five years ago. Having lived and worked on wheat farms their whole lives, this kind of harvest was completely different. For one thing, everything was wet, and for another, very colorful. But the image of Dudley peaking out through a window gave Tami a Walter Mitty-type idea. Why not have a deaf dog pretend he is doing all of the work on a busy cranberry farm? Dudley was a real dog who grew up on a cranberry farm near Ilwaco, Washington. His parents, Malcolm and Ardell McPhail are some of the largest growers on the Peninsula. Dudley really was deaf and had to stay inside while his family worked outside. Join him as he takes a hilarious imaginary adventure completing various tasks around the farm like swimming in the irrigation water, driving the beater, loading the berries on a conveyer belt, and hauling them in the pickup to the processing plant. Then wish him a good night as he goes to his soft bed after a hard day of work.
Author Biography
Tami loves writing books about the Long Beach Peninsula and this is her fourth book about the area. She plans to write many more stories highlighting her favorite vacation spot. This project was especially fun because she got to work with an up-and-coming young artist, Emily Puterbaugh. Emily created most of these charming illustrations when she was only 15 years old. Whenever they got together to brainstorm, Tami's favorite thing to do was sit and watch Emily sketch and create a picture from the words Tami had written. Young Miss Puterbaugh has also been involved in robotics and has a fairly successful Etsy site. This girl, only halfway through high school, is one to watch. She is well on her way to a career in illustrating books.
