Anthony produced the dummy for this book whilst staying at a Danish writer's retreat in 2003. At first it was called 'Where are you Dad?' and his images were heavily inspired by the snowy forest that surrounded him. As you can see this dummy is very detailed and the pictures are not that different from the published images.
The story is evidently influenced by fairytales (most notably Little Red Riding Hood), but it also draws from a real childhood experience. Anthony says; 'I was about six years old and my grandparents were supposed to come to our house for Sunday lunch. I had a new plastic rifle that I was keen to show them at the earliest opportunity, so my parents told me I could walk to the bus stop and meet them straight off the bus. I got to the bus stop, rifle cocked at the ready, but the bus didn’t come, so I decided to walk the two or three miles to their house all on my own. For the first part of the adventure I felt pleased with myself. I looked great with the gun, and walking to my grandparents’ house was the kind of thing that grown ups did! But soon it started to snow, and the road became less familiar. Before I knew it I was lost, freezing cold and terrified.
I eventually found my way there. It turned out that Dad had suspected what had happened and set off in his car to look for me. But there were two ways of getting from our house to The Red Lion (where my grandparents still lived): I had walked one way and Dad had driven the other, so we had missed each other. He was already there by the time I arrived. The rifle still was fearsome in my hands, but there were tears streaming down my face.'
To read more about Anthony's ideas and inspiration why not read his biography?