My animal characters are inspired by my life growing up in Boston in a large, extended family. My father's parents came over from the west coast of Ireland for work. They had six children and it multiplied from there. My mother's side was a blend of recent immigrants from Ireland and long ago immigrants from England in the 1600s. I also had the freedom from about age 14 to go into Boston myself and wander around exploring. Here are some of the characters that I created who live in the fictional world of Nellenby. Mr Frog's lesson is inspired by my time at Girls Latin School in Boston. We learned Latin and passed by Roman and Greek statues in the corridors. Wonderful school with creaky wooden floors and very good teachers. The lion character is based on my late father, Edward Boyle, who started in the Boston police, studied at night, and became an attorney in Boston who wore hats and smoked cigars. He had an office at 18 Tremont Street and I would stop by during my wande...
