Young Tomie wanted to attend Pratt Institute because his twin cousins, Franny and Fuffy, graduated from Pratt Institute in 1941. Tomie did attend Pratt and graduated in 1956.
In 2004, Tomie gave Pratt money to renovate a studio space. The studio was named "The Three Cousins: Tomie dePaola, Kathryn 'Fuffy' McLaughlin Abbe and Frances 'Franny' McLaughlin-Gill."
Franny and Fuffy had extensive careers as famed photographers.
Illustrations from THE BABY SISTER, published by G. P. Putnam's Sons. Copyright 1996 by Tomie dePaola. Two illustrations in the book were used to create the one illustration of Tomie and his twin cousins.