Suzy Spafford facts for kids

Suzy Spafford, also known as Suzy Spafford Lidstrom, is a famous American cartoonist. She was born in 1945. She is best known for creating fun and whimsical animal characters.

Her popular "Suzy's Zoo" collection includes greeting cards, stickers, and calendars. These products are sold in many stores around the world. Suzy Spafford has also written many books for children, like the Tales from Duckport series.

Suzy's Zoo: A Creative Business

Suzy Spafford started her "Suzy's Zoo" greeting card company in 1968. At that time, she was still a student at San Diego State University. She was studying to get her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In 1999, she added a new collection of products for babies and toddlers. This line was called Little Suzy's Zoo.

Meet the Duckport Characters

Suzy Spafford's drawings are often funny and full of bright colors. She has created over 200 different animal characters. These include rabbits, turtles, snails, and ostriches. Her animals wear clothes and shoes, and they always have happy expressions.

Her very first fully developed character was Suzy Ducken. Suzy Ducken is a cheerful mix of a chicken and a duck. Each character has its own personality and a special story. They all live together in a make-believe town called Duckport.

Growing the Business

At first, Suzy drew all the characters herself. But her business grew very quickly. She soon needed to hire assistants to help her keep up with all the work. By 2002, the Suzy's Zoo company had 50 employees. It was making about $50 million in sales each year.

Suzy Spafford's Life and Inspiration

Suzy Spafford was born in 1945 in Toledo, Ohio. She grew up in San Diego, California. She still lives there today with her husband, Ray Lidstrom. Ray is the president of her company, Suzy's Zoo Studios. Suzy graduated from Point Loma High School and San Diego State University.

Early Artistic Journey

Suzy has been drawing since she was only three years old. She was especially inspired by the imaginative drawings of Ted Geisel, who is better known as Dr. Seuss. She calls him "one of my heroes." Her parents supported her talent. They enrolled her in painting classes and later private watercolor lessons.

By the time she was in college, she was selling watercolor landscape paintings at art fairs. When things were slow at the fairs, she would draw small cartoons of animals. These animals would be doing fun things like playing golf or fishing. Customers loved these animal drawings. This led her to focus more and more on the style that became Suzy's Zoo.

Community Involvement

Suzy Spafford is a founding member of the San Diego Watercolor Society. She also helps several charities. She is on the boards of directors for groups like the Rees-Stealy Research Foundation. She also serves on the board for the San Diego/Imperial Council of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

Awards and Recognition

Suzy Spafford has received several awards for her work.

• In 1996, she won the National Cartoonist Society Greeting Card Award.
• In 1997, she was given the Kappa Delta Woman of Achievement Award.
• In 2003, the local Girl Scout council honored her. They gave her their annual "Cool Women" award. This award is given to local women who are great role models for girls. It celebrates how they balance work, family, friends, and community service.

Animated Series

An animated TV series based on Suzy's Zoo was created. It is called Suzy's Zoo: A Day with Witzy. This show was made by Suzy's Zoo Film Partners and the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) network. It started broadcasting on BabyFirstTV on March 23, 2015. The character Witzy was voiced by Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld.