Peanuts creator Charles Schulz always wanted his daughter, Meredith Hodges, to turn her passion for mules into a children's book. But for years she was too busy creating educational books and video manuals about the mules she raised and trained.
Now, inspired by a dream she had about a letter from a misunderstood 3-year-old mule named Jasper, Ms. Hodges, 53, has finally done it. Jasper: The Story of a Mule (Lucky Three Productions $39.95) is dedicated to her late father and to her mother, Joyce Doty, who introduced her to the animals she has raised and trained on her Colorado ranch for 23 years.
Ms. Hodges will sign copies of her book Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Borders Books and Music, 10720 Preston Road at Royal Lane.
Jasper tells a Black Beauty-like story of a mule who faces and surmounts trials as he changes owners. The book, aimed at ages 8 and up, sports 236 pages, but the story makes for easy reading, with just a few sentences and colorful illustrations by noted mule artist Bonnie Shields on each page.
Meanwhile, Bill Melendez, the animation genius and family friend behind all those Peanuts TV specials, is busy animating a video version of Jasper.
Animating them to Ms. Hodges exacting specifications is a challenge, he says. Of course, Mr. Schulz was pretty exacting, too. "Her dad was very demanding that everything be true to life. We couldn't just animate playing the piano. Those notes had to be true to what was playing."
In any case, he thinks the mule tale is working out well. "I think it's going to be a real good story and popular and a success. I'm doing it for her just like I did for her dad," says Mr. Melendez.
Ms. Hodges' mother grew up in Carthage, Texas, just southeast of Longview, where she liked wandering into town to pet the mules. Ms. Hodges, who used to train Arabian horses, learned to know and love mules after her mother started a mule ranch in 1973. "They're very loving and affectionate when treated right," she says.
She says she was inspired to write Jasper when she say how misunderstood mules are. "All of these negative ideas like 'stubborn as a mule' came because people couldn't bully a mule into compliance the way they could bully a horse. Mules are very intelligent.
"I often say they're the best therapists in the world, because they reward you for being a better person. We can all learn a little bit from that."
She says her father was a big influence in her life, but not because of Peanuts.
"We didn't know our dad was famous. We just thought he drew funny pictures and sometimes we didn't even think they were that funny."
What did impress her was how he always encouraged her to follow her passion. "He told me it didn't matter what anyone thought about what your passion was. You should just follow it and it will lead you where you're supposed to go.
"I think he did a fantastic job of pursuing his own passion. I admire and respect him and those are values he's passed on to me. I think he was an incredible human being and we were very fortunate to have him in this world."
For more about mules, check out Ms. Hodges Web Site, www.luckythreeranch.com