Emmeline de Pillis & John de Pillis
"Mary Pfaff"
Mary Pfaff, acclaimed as “the Beatrix Potter of Hawaii,” was born about 1875 in Brockton, Minnesota. At the age of twenty-two, she moved to Hawaii to work at the Hawaiian Gazette. There she met and married local businessman William Apana. Mary wrote and illustrated the Alice Mongoose stories to entertain their young daughter Mildred. William arranged to have Mary’s delightful sketches and stories printed as hardcover books. Alice Mongoose’s recent renaissance may be credited to the efforts of Mary Pfaff’s granddaughter, Dorothy Pfaff. A new generation of parents and children has come to appreciate the books’ unselfconscious multiculturalism, sensible life lessons, and positive main characters.
"Mary Pfaff" is the pen name of Emmeline de Pillis (writer) and John de Pillis (illustrator), a father-daughter team. John is emeritus professor of mathematics at University of California Riverside, and an accomplished artist and illustrator. Emmeline is professor of management at University of Hawaii at Hilo, author of the Professor Molly mysteries, and an admirer of Beatrix Potter. The artwork of "Mary Pfaff" played a pivotal role in Professor Molly Mystery #4, The Invasive Species. John and Emmeline have collaborated on four Alice Mongoose stories: Alice Mongoose and Alistair Rat in Hawaii, Alice and Alistair Have a Restaurant, Alice Mongoose, Alistair Rat, and the Big Sign, and Alice Mongoose and Alistair Rat's Hawaiian Christmas. All four stories are collected in The Alice Mongoose Omnibus. The Alice Mongoose and Alistair Rat adventures are children's stories for all ages.
"Mary Pfaff" is the pen name of Emmeline de Pillis (writer) and John de Pillis (illustrator), a father-daughter team. John is emeritus professor of mathematics at University of California Riverside, and an accomplished artist and illustrator. Emmeline is professor of management at University of Hawaii at Hilo, author of the Professor Molly mysteries, and an admirer of Beatrix Potter. The artwork of "Mary Pfaff" played a pivotal role in Professor Molly Mystery #4, The Invasive Species. John and Emmeline have collaborated on four Alice Mongoose stories: Alice Mongoose and Alistair Rat in Hawaii, Alice and Alistair Have a Restaurant, Alice Mongoose, Alistair Rat, and the Big Sign, and Alice Mongoose and Alistair Rat's Hawaiian Christmas. All four stories are collected in The Alice Mongoose Omnibus. The Alice Mongoose and Alistair Rat adventures are children's stories for all ages.
