About the Author
Jeff Bates is a Boys & Girls Clubs of America alumnus. Homeschool educator. Nonprofit director. Storyteller. And the person spending 24 chapters proving that every Disney movie started somewhere else.
For years, Jeff built his career in youth development through leadership roles with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America—work that shaped almost everything he does today, from how he runs a classroom to how he thinks about what makes a story worth a kid’s attention. In 2013, that work was recognized when he was named the Southwest Region’s Executive Director of the Year.
These days, Jeff runs Afterschool America, a homeschool co-op, and teaches classes for middle school-aged homeschooled students. The approach is the same one behind this book: give kids a story they already care about, and the reading, thinking, and real discussion tend to follow on their own.
Outside the classroom, Jeff runs a reselling business on Whatnot and Facebook Live and hosts a handful of YouTube channels covering everything from Disney history to baseball to the hunt for a great thrift find. Once Upon a Source sits right at the intersection of all of it—built by someone who’s spent his career finding the story inside the story, whether that’s in a fairy tale, a Club program, or a homeschool classroom.
Jeff’s love of Disney didn’t start with a screen—it started with his grandfather, who was at Disneyland on opening day in 1955. He grew up in Southern California hearing those stories, and somewhere along the way, the movies became a doorway into something bigger: the books, myths, and legends that came long before Walt ever got involved.
“For my mom, who gave me her love of reading, writing, and Disney.”
Where It Started
About the Book
Once Upon a Source started with a question I couldn’t shake: what happens if you put a Disney movie next to the story that actually inspired it? Not a trivia fact. Not a footnote. The whole original story, side by side with the film, chapter by chapter.
The answer, it turned out, was a book. Twenty-four chapters, one for every Disney animated film covered, each one pairing the movie with its source material—a fairy tale, a myth, a poem, or a novel—and walking through exactly what changed on the way to the screen and why.
It took years of research, a stack of very old books, and a genuine willingness to be surprised by stories I thought I already knew. It’s the book I wanted to read and couldn’t find, so I wrote it.
Follow on Twitter at
@dolewhipdad and/or @jeffbatesx
Follow on Instagram at
And subscribe on YouTube at dolewhipdad
Where It Started
About the Book
Once Upon a Source started with a question I couldn’t shake: what happens if you put a Disney movie next to the story that actually inspired it? Not a trivia fact. Not a footnote. The whole original story, side by side with the film, chapter by chapter.
The answer, it turned out, was a book. Twenty-four chapters, one for every Disney animated film covered, each one pairing the movie with its source material — a fairy tale, a myth, a poem, a novel — and walking through exactly what changed on the way to the screen, and why.
It took years of research, a stack of very old books, and a genuine willingness to be surprised by stories I thought I already knew. It’s the book I wanted to read and couldn’t find, so I wrote it.
About the Project
Once Upon a Source is bigger than one book. It’s a growing ecosystem for readers, families, and classrooms. The book is twenty-four chapters, each pairing one Disney film with the story that came first. The curriculum builds that into six volumes—a full 24-week course for grades 6–8. The Literary Passport maps ninety-five real-world places tied to the source stories for anyone who’d rather stand in them than just read about them. And Fan Voices is the part I didn’t plan for: readers telling me what these stories mean to them, which has turned a research project into a community.
The Author Jeff Bates
Dolewhip Dad YouTube Channel
Press & Media
Available for interviews, podcast appearances, school visits, and educator conferences. Reach out with your event or story idea and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can.