Bill Peet

William Bartlett Peet (né Peed; January 29, 1915 – May 11, 2002) was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer and animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Peet joined Disney in 1937 and worked first on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) near the end of its production. Progressively, his involvement in the Disney studio's animated feature films and shorts increased, and he remained there until early in the development of The Jungle Book (1967). A row with Walt Disney over the direction of the project led to him resigning in 1964. Peet's subsequent career was as a writer and illustrator of numerous children's books, including Capyboppy (1966), The Wump World (1970), The Whingdingdilly (1970), The Ant and the Elephant (1972), and Cyrus the Unsinkable Serpent (1975). Bill Peet was born in Grandview, Indiana, on January 29, 1915, the son of Orion Hopkins Peed (1888–1951) and EmmaGrayce Peed (née Thorpe, 1891–1969). He developed a love of drawing at an early age and filled tablets with sketches. According to his autobiography, Peet's happiest childhood times were the years following World War I—years during which his father abandoned the family. During that period Peet lived with his mother and brothers on the outskirts of Indianapolis, in a household run by his maternal grandmother. Animals were always a love of Peet's.