Eric Hill, the author of the popular children's book series that followed a curious dog Spot The Dog, passed away on Friday at the age of 86 at his Central California home.
Penguin Children's Group spokeswoman Adele Minchin revealed the Spot The Dog author died after suffering from a short illness, according to CBS LA. He is survived by his wife Gillian and two children Jane and Christopher.
The simplistic story of Spot's mother looking around the house for him, originally created to entertain Hill's son, was first published in 1980. The series was successful with kids and spawned several other books in the series and even an animated series.
Still, The Associated Press reports, it wasn't easy getting the initial book published. The flaps used in the book made many publishers pass on picking up the book.
Minchin said in a statement, "Familiar as we are today with a children's book market where flaps, pop-ups and all kinds of novelty and interactivity are taken for granted, it is hard to recall what an extraordinarily innovative concept this was in the late 1970s."
She continued, "At that time, Eric's idea was so different that it took a long while before anyone was brave enough to consider publishing his first book about Spot."