Elizabeth Mulderig has written children's books, painted pictures and now she's stripping – comic stripping that is.

She now has a cartoon appearing regularly in the Mid-Ocean News and a comic strip that will kick off in the December issue of rg Magazine.

"The strip won't be political, it will be fun social commentary," said Miss Mulderig. "Tiny's not a political animal."

The characters will be based on Miss Mulderig's well loved 'Tiny The Tree Frog Tours Bermuda' and 'Do-Boy Digs Bermuda'.

"I loved Charles Schulz's Charlie Brown comic strip as a child," said Miss Mulderig. "I got the idea to do a Tiny The Tree Frog cartoon from that."

Miss Mulderig said she had no trouble transitioning to the new artform.

"I had never done a cartoon strip before," she said, "but there weren't any special challenges to it. I am such a avid fan of Charlie Brown that I think it is in my blood from that. I had so much fun doing it."

Miss Mulderig said she always makes a point of watching the Charlie Brown Christmas and Thanksgiving specials on television, even though she often has to watch them alone.

"If I were one of the characters, I am Charlie, but I guess I like Peppermint Paddy also. And Snoopy is my baby too, because I have always loved dogs."

She said she has tried to fashion her comic strip to be similar to the Peanuts gang. The main characters will be Do-Boy and all of his friends.

"It will be a continuous story that will be all in rhyme and will be in the children's section of rg Magazine,"said Miss Mulderig. "There will be all kinds of characters like Lizzy the Lizard, Frank the Turtle, Pete the Palmetto Bug and even Sister Sally the Churchworm. It will be an adventure."

Do-Boy is based on two of her pets who have now died.

"I used my dachschund, Twinkie, for the illustration, but it was based on the dog before her, Do-Boy."

The author and painter may give Twinkie her own story, sending her on an adventure in New York City.

"I am thinking of branching out and trying to do a book about Central Park," she said. "Tiny the Tree Frog touring Bermuda was so incredibly popular. I intend to do that for Christmas 2009."

But at the moment, her project is to bring out a series of 'tiny' Tiny The Tree Frog books. She has just released the first in the series, 'Tiny The Tree Frog: The Night Before Christmas'.

"I got the idea from Beatrix Potter books," Miss Mulderig said. "I loved those books."

This spring she will wake Tiny up again after a long hibernation.

"To celebrate the quadricentennial, I am having: 'Tiny The Tree Frog Sails to Bermuda'. After that I will have 'Tiny The Tree Frog: Kite Day' and then it will continue.

"I thought I would bring a new story out every year and have an eventual collection, like the Beatrix Potter collection."

When she wrote her first books she tried them out on her nieces and nephews.

"They were brutally honest," she said. "But my nieces and nephews are all grown up now."

But she said the books still resonate with children, even though it has been 12 years since she brought out the first Tiny The Tree Frog book.

"Children who weren't even born when the last book was written are interested in Tiny," she said. "When I go into the schools, I ask the children 'who has heard of Tiny' and all the hands of the four and five-year-olds go up."

Miss Mulderig attributed Tiny's enduring appeal to his winning personality.

"He is curious and adventuresome and he is brave and strong," she said. She said she is happy to be helping kids to enjoy reading. "Reading is incredibly important," she said.

"I read a study recently that said that up to age eight you learn to read and after age eight you read to learn. If you haven't got the foundation after age eight, children often have a horrible struggle."

But she wanted her work to promote more than just a love of reading. "I hope children will pay more attention to the environment," she said. "Maybe they will pay attention to a little tree frog. So I would want to encourage a love for reading, but also everything else in the world that is beautiful."

Part of the proceeds of her books go towards the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

The charity is near and dear to her heart because most of her pets have come from there including her two current dogs.

She brought one of the dogs, MooMouse to the interview at The Royal Gazette office.

"MooMouse doesn't like to be left at home alone," said Miss Mulderig carrying the chihuahua cross in a travel bag. "They have so many terrific dogs at the SPCA in need of a home. Nobody wanted MooMouse. She is about 16-years-old. Someone rescued her from a swimming pool. "She has a heart murmur, a broken tail and a cataract, but I love her. She has a great personality."

Other new Tiny The Tree Frog products are in the works such as a DVD series, and a t-shirt to go along with the books.

Miss Mulderig is also releasing a calendar of her adult art work this Christmas which has pictures of Bermuda homes and recipes.