Louie the pig doesn't love school, and school doesn?t love him. He draws when he should be studying, and the other pigs taunt him for falling behind. But he keeps drawing?mostly pictures of his mother?s childhood in Paris: the convent school where she grew up, where all the girls walked in two straight lines . . .

Children around the world know how the story ends, but here?s a story about how it all began. In a stunning new style, Will Hillenbrand presents a unique, creative interpretation of the childhood Ludwig Bemelmans, a little artist who started his life misunderstood?but ended up one of the most celebrated children?s book creators of all time.