Today I welcome Brent Suter to Best Dog Books, a blog that features interviews with authors who’ve written a canine story for kids or young adults. Brent is not only a Harvard graduate, but also a left-handed relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. He is now adding author to his credentials with the debut of his first picture book. In other words, he’s won the genetic lottery.

Brent is here to talk about The Binky Bandit which is illustrated by Jayden Ellsworth and published by Orange Hat Publishing for kids up to 8 and will launch on June 6, 2022. The Binky Bandit is available wherever you can buy books. If you’d like to purchase a signed copy, you can do so by ordering online from the publisher.

Best Dog Books: Who is your key dog character and what kind of dog is he/she? 

My dog, Wally, is the main character in the book. He is a mini golden doodle.

L-R: Wally, Brent, Erin and Liam

Best Dog Books: Tell us about your story. 

Wally has the perfect life until a human baby brother comes home and takes lots of attention. As his jealousy rages on, he begins destroying his brother’s plastic binkies, and lots of them. Eventually, guilt for the family and environmental damage he’s causing sets in and he then does something he couldn’t before!

Best Dog Books: What inspired you to write this story?

My dog destroying Liam’s binkies was so funny to me that I decided to write Liam a poem about it so we could remember this hilarious phase in our lives.

Brent with newborn second son, Layton

Best Dog Books: What was the biggest challenge you had writing your story? How did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge I had was matching the rhyme and rhythm scheme with what I wanted the story to say.

Best Dog Books: What kind of story can we expect next from you? Is it about a dog? If so, what can you tell us about it?

My guess is the next book would be a sequel when baby brother number 2 comes home. He’s due any day now!

Brent in the locker room with THE BINKY BANDIT

Best Dog Books: What else would you like us to know about you or your story?

The whole writing and publishing process has been so much fun!

Best Dog Books: Can you remember the first book that made an impact on you? Why?

Dr. Suess books, specifically The Lorax, were always some of my favorites because they were funny and had great messages!

Best Dog Books: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

I would say let your heart write the story. Doing that helps words fall onto the page and makes the whole process so much more enjoyable.

Brent in action!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brent Suter led Major League Baseball with twelve relief wins in the 2021 season. Outside of baseball, Brent is a graduate of Harvard University, with a degree in Environmental Science and Public Policy, and is an outspoken advocate for conservation efforts with Players for the Planet, an organization of professional athletes who aim to make positive environmental change. He resides in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife Erin, his sons Liam and Layton, and of course, Wally, the inspiration for this book.

If you’d like to learn more about Brent Suter, you can follow the author on Twitter {@bruter24} or Instagram {@brentsuter35}. To get a true picture of just who Brent Suter is, check out his ultimate highlight reel done with some humor. Or if you’d like some entertainment, be sure to search for Brent on YouTube. My favorite is one of his many impersonation videos. Brent is the kind of role model the world needs more of. Shout out to his mom and dad for raising an amazing son!

Shirley and Mike Suter with grandson, Liam

Thank you Brent for joining us at Best Dog Books. Congratulations on the launch of your first book. We look forward to reading it and watching what you do next!

For more best dog book titles, check out 101 Best Dog Books for Kids.

Best Dog Books for Kids welcomes Rob Sayegh Jr.! Our blog features interviews with authors who’ve written a canine story for kids or young adults. Rob Sayegh Jr. is here to talk about LOVE TAILS which is a picture book published by Cameron Kids for kids aged 3-5.

About your Best Dog Book

Who is your key dog character(s) and what kind of dog is he/she?

LOVE TAILS celebrates all dogs, so there is not one individual protagonist but a variety of dogs shown throughout the book.

What is your dog book about?

LOVE TAILS takes the silliness of how dogs introduce themselves to one another by sniffing each other’s behind to show that every dog or human has their own take when you see them. Everyone’s tale may be different, but every “tail” is capable and full of love, no matter the tale.

About the Writing Process

What was the biggest challenge you had writing your dog book? How did you overcome it?

While writing the manuscript, the biggest challenge was bringing the words and pictures to be as simple as possible. LOVE TAILS is a book for a very young reader, and with any manuscript, I think simplifying your text is one of the most important jobs of an author for children’s picture books.

What kind of story can readers expect next from you? Is it about a dog? If so, what can you tell us about it?

The next book that I worked on is ARLO DRAWS AN OCTOPUS, written by Lori Mortensen and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers. It debuts on May 4, 2021

Can you remember the first book that made an impact on you? Why?

BUNNICULA by Deborah and James Howe. I just thought it was the funniest story, but I also loved the Harold the dog and Chester the cat really made the book special due to their animal point of view.

What is your favorite dog book? Why?

HARRY THE DIRTY DOG by Gene Zion. I always find it to be so charming whenever I read it. I personally think that when authors take something that everyone knows about (i.e., dogs hating bath time) and turn that concept around to a humorous one-of-a-kind story, it makes that story not only immediately relatable but also that much more memorable to the reader.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Simplifying manuscripts is crucial, but it does not mean dumbing down your story. Simplifying is taking the complex and making it as straightforward as possible.  Children understand complex things, but it is how we as authors explain and write about concepts that leave a lasting impression.

About the Author

If you’d like to learn more about Rob Sayegh Jr., you can check out the author’s website or follow the author on Facebook  or twitter  or instagram . You can also find book reviews from KIRKUS.

Thank you Rob Sayegh Jr. for joining us at Best Dog Books. We look forward to reading your dog book!

Dog Book Resources

For other great books about dogs, check out 101 Best Dog Books for Kids.

For traditionally published authors, check out our Best Dog Book Medal writing contest.

From the publisher:

“Fairy tale and history merge seamlessly” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) in this enchanting and lyrical novel about love and resilience from the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner, Katherine Rundell.

Feo’s life is extraordinary. Her mother trains domesticated wolves to be able to fend for themselves in the snowy wilderness of Russia, and Feo is following in her footsteps to become a wolf wilder. She loves taking care of the wolves, especially the three who stay at the house because they refuse to leave Feo, even though they’ve already been wilded. But not everyone is enamored with the wolves, or with the fact that Feo and her mother are turning them wild. And when her mother is taken captive, Feo must travel through the cold, harsh woods to save her—and learn from her wolves how to survive.

For other great books about dogs, check out 101 Best Dog Books for Kids.

For authors who’ve published a dog book for kids, check out our Best Dog Book Medal.

Leanin’ Dog is a chocolate labrador, half-starved and unable to hunt for herself because of an injured paw, and so, she is forced to seek out humans to survive. Deep, deep in the winter, far back in the mountains of western Colorado she stumbles onto the porch of a tiny cabin.  One chunk of stew meat, one bite of potato at a time, the lonely little girl inside fills Leanin’ Dog’s stomach and heals the dog’s heart and herself learns to trust again.

We had a wonderful chocolate lab/St. Bernard mix named Moot, who always accompanied me on road trips.  She would sit next to me in the minivan, between the front seats. Over the course of the first hour of driving, slowly, slowly, she would start to lean into me, mile by mile, pound by pound, until her full weight rested against my right arm and thigh, eventually rendering them numb. That’s where I got the dog for the story.

The story itself came as I sat, one snowy day, gazing out the window at the huge flakes falling to the ground. Slow and soft at first, then fast and thick they came on.  I looked down at big, brown Mooty, lying on the floor next to me, and a question formed in my mind: What if…there were a big, brown dog out in a storm like that? I grabbed my notebook and pen and started to write.

What came to me was not a novel, but a short story.  After that, months later, I wrote a second short story called The Leanin’ Dog and the Christmas Moon.  The biggest challenge I faced was to discover and excavate the back story that connected the two, and what I found was that the first story was the natural beginning of the novel, and the second fell into place at the end of the novel.

There are no dogs in my first novel, A Small White Scar, only a fine horse, a renegade coyote, and an aggressive, dead rattlesnake. It is a young adult Western, the coming of age story of fifteen-year-old twin brothers, one of whom has Down Syndrome.  The novel traces the boys’ journey through a treacherous external landscape and an equally treacherous internal one in search of their independence from each other.

The novel I am at work on now is a horse story.  It has been the most difficult book I have attempted so far; I think because it is based on the real life story of my best horse, Dan.  I had to try several different POVs and several different voices before I found a combination that didn’t eventually hit a wall.  What I finally settled on, what made the story flow, was third person omniscient/storyteller’s voice. After that, it was still a struggle for a long time to narrow the focus to the very heart of the story and away from the real life facts. In the end what mattered the most was: this horse has a guardian angel.

  I don’t remember the books that didn’t have an impact on me when I was a kid. When I was really young, before I could read to myself, it was a Disney book of Cinderella read to me by my mom as a bedtime story.  I’m not sure this was well thought out on her part because it seemed like every time she read it to me, I would have nightmares about the Bad Fairy chasing me, trying to get me in her clutches, and I would have to wake my mom up.

It was in fourth grade that I discovered Edward Eager’s magic books. They became the favorites of my childhood and remain the favorites of my adulthood. Half Magic, Magic by the Lake, Seven Day Magic, Magic or Not, The Well Wishers, The Time Garden, Knight’s Castle; they are all wonderful, and they kindled my imagination, my love of reading, my belief in possibilities.  I only recently discovered that in addition to these classics, Mr. Eager was also a playwright and lyricist.

Thanks for joining us at Best Dog Books!

For other great books about dogs, check out 101 Best Dog Books for Kids.

For authors who’ve published a dog book for kids, check out our Best Dog Book Medal.

Back to My Roots

Hi, readers!

Many years ago, just out of college and with one year of teaching experience, I landed my dream job in New York City as an editorial assistant for the children’s paperback division of a large publishing company.  One of my first jobs was to write cover copy, which is a summary of the plot that goes on the back cover of a paperback.  I was thrilled to work on children’s books, and over the next few years, at three different companies, I took on many tasks and assignments.

Eventually, I became a senior editor.  I enjoyed everything about being an editor:  working with authors, coming up with new ideas, reading manuscripts, and editing a book from start to finish.Early in my publishing career, I decided that I wanted to write children’s books myself.  I began working on Bummer Summer, which became my first published work.  Over the next few years, I finished two more books,Early in my publishing career, I decided that I wanted to write children’s books myself.  I began working on Bummer Summer, which became my first published work.  Over the next few years, I finished two more books, writing before I went to work and on the weekends. Finally I decided to leave my editorial job and become a free-lance writer.   Working alone at home was very different from being in an office with my colleagues, but I knew it was the right choice for me.  Long-time readers may know that it was at this time that Scholastic’s editorial director asked me to write a four-book series about a group of girls who baby-sat, and The Baby-sitters Club was born!

Many years and many books later, I was delighted when Doll People co-author Laura Godwin asked me if I would be interested in editing a collection of dog stories.  Because Laura loves classic dog stories, she thought children would enjoy reading a contemporary collection from a diverse group of authors.  I happily said yes. After so many years of writing, I thought it would be fun to work once again with other authors and their stories.  An added bonus, of course, is that I love dogs!

My first task was to invite authors to contribute to the collection. Laura and I ended up with a wonderfully diverse and talented group:  fellow Scholastic authors Pam Munoz Ryan, Mark Teague and Jon J Muth, along with authors Wendy Orr, Thacher Hurd, Valerie Hobbs, Margarita Engle, and Matt de la Pena.  It was fun to work with all of these people; I’ve known Pam, Mark, and Jon for years, and it was great to get to know some of the others whose work I was familiar with but whom I had never met.  The only instruction to the authors was to write a story about a dog.  We didn’t give them any other direction; we wanted to see what the authors would come up with on their own.

My dog, Sadie, got involved with the project and wrote a forward for the book, in which she says, “Between the covers of this book, you’ll read about a boy who turns into a dog, a dog who brings a family together, a dog who lived a long time ago and was a companion to a very great artist in Paris, and about funny dogs, adventurous dogs, brave dogs, smart dogs, and dogs who perform rescues.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself!

I was also writing a story for the collection, and after some thought, I recalled a day when Sadie wandered off and went missing for several hours.  It was a scary time, although it ended well and she never ran off again. I decided to tell a similar story through the eyes of twelve-year-old Delilah, who is left in charge of her dog Picasso for the first time in her life.

In the end, I tried not to do too much editing of the other authors’ manuscripts.  I made suggestions, but felt it was important that the authors tell their own stories in their own voices.  I think this is what makes the collection, Because of Shoe (the title of Pam Munoz Ryan’s story), such an adventure for the reader!

As for me, taking a break from my writing to return to my editorial roots was a great experience.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it’s a challenge I look forward to taking on again.

Happy reading!

Love,

Ann

Thank you for joining us at Best Dog Books, Ann Martin! To find other books by Ann, click here. 

For other great books about dogs, check out 101 Best Dog Books for Kids.

For published authors who’ve written a dog book, check out our Best Dog Book Medal.