AUTHOR: We’ve mentioned children’s author John Peterson before in RTS. We’ll share some more about the Bradford-born creator of “The Littles.”
The series of children’s books was created in 1967, and later adapted into an animated cartoon series by DiC Entertainment.
The cartoon ran on ABC Saturday mornings from Sept. 10, 1983, to Nov. 2, 1985, for a total of 29 episodes. The Littles are tiny little creatures with mouse-like features who live in a house owned by the Biggs.
“Meet the Littles, a family like any other but with a few tiny differences! They live in the walls of the Bigg family house where they get everything they need. In return they make sure the Bigg house is always in good repair.”
The books are written for children aged 9 to 12. The first 15 books in The Littles series were written by Peterson, while subsequent books have other authors.
Now for the author — Peterson was born in Bradford on Feb. 10, 1924, and attended Pratt Institute before volunteering and serving as a paratrooper of the 11th Airborne DIvision in World War II. After the war, he returned to Pratt and completed his studies, graduating in 1948.
He lived in the Clinton Hill district of Brooklyn, and later moved to Hankins, N.Y.
Peterson was an illustrator for advertising and magazines for two decades before writing his first book, “Tony’s Treasure Hunt,” later renamed “Terry’s Treasure Hunt.” Another Peterson title is “How to Write Codes and Send Secret Messages” featuring such tricks as mirror writing, the reverse mirror code, and the use of invisible ink.
He had written more than 25 children’s books, including “The Secret Hideout,” a long-running paperback for Scholastic Press and its book clubs through the 1970s.
