She’s Like A Singer

A local artist has brought a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Lakota Ridge Junior High School to cartoon celebrity worldwide.

Artist Loren Long used local resident Jonathan Whitney as a model for the antagonist in the new children’s book Mr. Peabody’s Apples, the second children’s book by the pop star Madonna. The book was released last week in 150 countries and 36 languages.

Whitney modeled the book’s character Tommy Tittlebottom, who starts false rumors about a little league coach, Mr. Peabody.

“It was so cool seeing myself animated,” Jonathan said. “I’ve never been in a book before, it was pretty exciting to be a part of it.”

A year ago he didn’t even know who Madonna was.
“She’s like a singer, I think,” he said.
Jonathan has the good fortune of living two doors down from Long.
Long asked the Whitney family, who had moved in July 2002, if he could use Jonathan as a model.
“Jonathanwas mischievous like Dennis the Menace,” said Long, a six-year West Chester Twp. resident. “There was an air of confidence he seemed to project.”

Long also used his own son, Griffith, 8, to model another main character, Billy Little.
Jonathan’s mother, Nancy, said she had reservations in giving Long permission to work with her son.
“I had mixed emotions,” she said. “Madonna has a rather controversial past – the Britney Spears thing didn’t help either. I was totally excited, but she is a controversial person. As much as that may be, she has a different reputation as a mother.”

Source: Benjamin Poston, Cox News Service