Denise Holly Hobbie (née Ulinskas;[1]: 102 born 1944) is an American writer, watercolorist[2]: 127 and illustrator.
[3] She is best known for creating the American Greetings character which, originally unnamed, is now also called Holly Hobbie.
Hobbie is the author of the popular Toot & Puddle children's books and the creator of the character bearing her name.
In the late 1960s, at the encouragement of her brother-in-law,[2]: 128 Hobbie sold distinctive artwork of a cat-loving, rag dress-wearing little girl in a giant bonnet to American Greetings in Cleveland, Ohio.
The adaptation of the books, Toot & Puddle was made in 2008 by Mercury Filmworks, National Geographic Kids, and Treehouse TV.