Today I welcome Helen Frost to Best Dog Books, a blog that features interviews with authors who’ve written a canine story for kids or young adults. Helen will talk about Diamond Willow which is a middle grade novel published by Frances Foster Books, FSG for kids aged 8-12.

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

Roxy is a sled dog, the lead dog, in a dog team in rural Alaska.

Best Dog Books: Tell us about your story.

Willow, a 12-year-old girl, feels ordinary and unappreciated, especially at school. She’s more confident out on the trail with her family’s dog team, and thinks she should be trusted to mush the dogs out to her grandparents’ house, alone. When her parents finally trust her to do this, she and the dogs have an accident, and Roxy, the lead dog, is injured. In trying to make things right, Willow gets into serious trouble, taking Roxy and her best friend with her. With the help of the animals around her, and the affectionate concern of the ancestors those animals represent, Willow finds her way to safety, and saves herself and Roxy.

It’s an adventure story, a story of family secrets, and beneath it all, a story of a girl and a dog.

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

Early in the story, Willow says, “I was named after a stick.” Something similar can be said about the story itself: it was inspired by a stick. I lived in a small community in Alaska for three years, and when I left, a friend gave me a Diamond Willow walking stick that he had found, peeled, sanded, and polished to a beautiful finish. The diamonds in diamond willow are formed when a tree is injured and a branch falls away, leaving a scar that is seen more clearly when the bark is peeled off. That is an extended metaphor throughout the story as Willow discovers something she has been missing all her life, and readers come to see how that is part of the beauty she has a hard time seeing in herself.

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

I wrote the book in poems, following the form of diamond willow sticks: each poem is written in a diamond shape, with a smaller shape in bold print at the center. The poems are in first person, and as Willow tells her story, the bolded words say something she isn’t quite admitting to herself. That was a challenge I happily gave myself, and meeting it was a process of discovery as the language I needed rose to meet me.   

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?

I have written a number of books since Diamond Willow, and there are dogs in several of them. In Hidden, the dog, Bilbo, is not heroic, though he does unintentionally help solve a mystery. In my recent (2020) book, Blue Daisy, the dog is very much a central character, as a catalyst for friendship between four children.

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

As I mentioned above, for three years I lived in a small Alaskan community of 25 people, not accessible by road, but rather by air, boat, snowmobile or dog sled. The landscape and feeling of those years has been important to my “inner landscape” ever since.

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

My father was a wonderful story-teller, and I grew up in the middle of a large family (fifth of ten children), so perhaps more than a first book, I remember those cozy times of crowding around my father in his big green chair as he invented outlandish adventures and brought us all into them by giving the characters our names.

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

Even if you are writing about something hard or sad, try to find a place of love at the center of your story, something strong in the telling of it. This may not be immediately apparent in the first draft, but it will come with patient attention.

If you’d like to learn more about Helen Frost, you can check out the author’s website or follow the author on facebook or instagram. You can find book reviews and awards for Helen’s books by following links on her website.

Thank you Helen for joining us at Best Dog Books. We look forward to reading your book!

Dog Book Resources

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

For published authors and unpublished authors, check out our writing contests.

I’d like to invite Sherry Shahan to Best Dog Books for Kids to share some information about her book, ICE ISLAND published by Random House/Yearling, 2013). Welcome Sherry!

Best Dog Books for Kids: Who is your key dog character in ICE ISLAND? 

Bandit is a mixed breed Alaskan husky retired from the famed 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska.

Best Dog Books for Kids: What is ICE ISLAND about? 

What begins as a training run with sled dogs turns into a race against time for Tatum and her new friend, a Siberian Yupik boy named Cole. When a freak blizzard hits this remote island off the coast of Alaska, the duo seeks shelter overnight in a dilapidated hunting cabin.

Their harrowing ordeal goes from bad to worse when wind-driven snow forces them to risk an alternate route. Stranded five days in the untamed wilderness, the pair must rely on each other — as well as their faithful huskies — to survive sub-zero temperatures and bone-numbing exhaustion. Worse still, their food supply is running dangerously low.

The most daunting decision comes when the strongest dog runs away. One person will have to go for help. But one will have to stay behind. Either way, they’ll both be alone in the wild for an uncertain amount of time.

Reviews of your Dog Book

Here are some reviews of ICE ISLAND:

Kirkus: “Riveting and atmospheric, this is a tale of teenage Tatum, who becomes lost and separated from her friend on an Alaskan island with only a team of dogs, a few supplies and her instincts to keep her alive. As a race for survival, this is also an exhilarating sprint through the pages. . . . ”

School Library Journal: “Shahan knows her territory well and vividly describes the landscape’s stark beauty and Tatum’s sense of isolation. Heroic dogs, danger, and an accessible writing style add cross-gender appeal.”

Booklist: “. . . readers attuned to the call of the wild will gobble it down like the frozen caribou strips and turkey-skin treats that keep Tatum’s dogs running.”

The Inspiration for Your Dog Book

Best Dog Books for Kids: What inspired you to write ICE ISLAND?

I was inspired to write Ice Island after visiting St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. This remote island lies west of the mainland of Alaska in the Bering Sea — about 230 miles southwest of Nome. Yet it’s less than 40 miles from Russia. I was startled by the sight of polar bear hides drying on racks, and amused by children playing with large chunks of ice, stacking them like blocks. I remember thinking, Some day I’ll use these details in a story.

Writing Tips

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

The biggest challenge was deciding what historical facts about the Iditarod to include in the novel, and which ones to leave out. Fortunately, I have an astute editor who helped me with these very difficult decisions.

Other Stories

Best Dog Books for Kids: What other YA/MG books have you written? Do any of them feature a key dog character? If so, which ones? 

DEATH MOUNTAIN (Peachtree) is an adventure novel based on a terrifying near-death experience. My backpacking group was caught in a deadly electrical storm on an exposed ridge. What sets this story apart from other adventure novels is that the two main characters are teen girls. They’re forced to face the challenges of being lost in the untamed wilderness with grit and resourcefulness.  Their dog is a loveable Australian Shepherd named Sequoia.

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

I just signed a contract with Whitman for a YA novel set in an eating disorders unit of a hospital. SKIN AND BONES is scheduled for Spring 2014.

About the Author

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

I’m a longtime photographer and travel writer. Adventures have put me inside a dog sled for the first part of the 1,049 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, on horseback in Africa’s Maasailand, hiking a leech-infested rain forest in Australia, snorkeling with penguins in the Galapagos and more.

Best Dog Books for Kids: Can you remember the first book that made an impact on you? And why?

When my two daughters were reading Judy Blume’s books I thought I’d like to try writing for children. Up until then, I’d been writing for adults.

If you’d like to learn more about Sherry Shahan, her books and her adventures, please click here.

Thank you for taking time with us at Best Dog Books, Sherry Shahan. We look forward to reading your next book.

Dog Book Resources

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

For published authors and unpublished authors, check out our writing contests.

Today I welcome Helen Frost to Best Dog Books, a blog that features interviews with authors who’ve written a canine story for kids or young adults. Helen is here to talk about Blue Daisy which is a middle grade novel illustrated by Rob Shepperson and published by Holiday House/ Margaret Ferguson Books for kids aged 7-10. Congratulations on your book launch!

Since this interview first posted, Blue Daisy has won the 2020 Best Dog Book Medal. Congratulations, Helen and Rob!

Best Dog Books for Kids: Who is your key dog character?

A stray dog comes into town, and remains nameless for the first part of the book. Eventually she earns the name Blue Daisy.

Best Dog Books for Kids: Tell us about your story.

The story is in the classic tradition of “A stranger comes to town.” When the skinny homeless dog shows up, she becomes a catalyst for four children (a set of twins, and two friends) to re-think the way they interact with each other. Who are the mean kids? Who are the nice ones? Why doesn’t the dog trust the nice kids? It’s not at all heavy-handed, but it gives young readers a way of thinking through the ways they may pre-judge people, and, equally important, animals.

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

The story has deep roots, and has been through so many revisions, that it is no longer possible for me to say what the original inspiration was. There is a childhood memory at its core, and friendships, some that have occasionally been difficult to maintain, in the body of the story.

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

There is a scene in the book where Katie’s mother accuses her of being mean, which makes Katie cry. That scene arose from a difficult situation during the writing of the story where a friend accused me of not caring about dogs—because how could I write about something awful happening to a dog, and risk giving children such a terrible idea? I set the book aside for a while as I considered what my friend had said, worried because it seemed that I needed to choose between the friendship and the book. In the end, facing the accusation made the story stronger, and both the book and the friendship became stronger because of it. I was very lucky to have an editor, Margaret Ferguson, who stood by me through this self-questioning and offered thoughtful support as the story found its way.

Best Dog Books for Kids: What kind of story can we expect next from you?

I have a picture book coming out in 2022, titled enticingly, Wait—and See. I’m not sure what my next novel will be, but I’d like to mention an earlier novel about a dog. Diamond Willow is set in Alaska, and features a relationship between a 12-year-old dog musher named Willow and her sled dog, Roxy. It’s an adventure story, a dog-story, a novel-in-poems for readers just a little older than the readers who are enjoying Blue Daisy.

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

I have never met Blue Daisy’s illustrator, Rob Shepperson, but I love what he brought to the book. His lively illustrations add depth to the story and bring the characters to life in a delightful way.

Photo credit: Tim Andersen, Bel Air Photography

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

I do remember an emotional impact of a book my older sister read to me when I was 4 and she was 11. The book was Sonny Elephant (by Madge Bigham, published by Little, Brown and Company, 1939) and there was a horrible character called “Man” who mistreated the elephant family. About halfway through the book I realized that “Man” meant people. We were Man. Writing this now, I am aware that something similar is going on in Blue Daisy, as Sam and Katie come to recognize that there’s not such a big difference between them and the mean kids.

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

Go for it! Writing has a lot of value in itself, whether or not your writing is immediately published. As for publication, it is hard, but not impossible. And of course, throughout this journey, enjoy the richness of reading.

If you’d like to learn more about Helen Frost, you can check out the author’s website or follow the author on facebook or instagram. You can find book reviews and awards for Helen’s books by following links on her website.

Thank you Helen for joining us at Best Dog Books. We look forward to reading your book!

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

For published authors with dog books, check out the rules for the Best Dog Book Medal.

Thank you, Rob Shepperson for the lovely illustration of Blue daisy accepting her award, the 2020 Best Dog Book Medal.

From the publisher:

One morning in May five little dachshunds are born. They grow up the way puppies do, and at first they all look exactly alike. But after nine weeks Pretzel starts growing – and growing – and growing! Fully grown, Pretzel is the longest dachshund in all the world. He easily wins a blue ribbon at the dog show and is admired by everyone – everyone but Greta, the little dachshund across the street, who doesn’t care for long dogs. Pretzel is unable to win Greta’s heart until the day she needs rescuing, when the only dog who can save her must be very, very long. This classic story of puppy love will win the hearts of both old and new Pretzel fans. How can you go wrong with a story that begins and ends with puppies?

Just launched on March 31, 2020!

From the publisher:

A daring dog takes a whirlwind tour of Rome in search of freedom in new picture book from beloved storyteller Mac Barnett and masterful illustrator Claire Keane

Paolo the dachshund is trapped. Though he lives in Rome, a city filled with history and adventure, he is confined to a hair salon. Paolo dreams of the sweet life—la dolce vita—in the Eternal City. And then, one day, he escapes! Paolo throws himself into the city, finding adventure at every turn. Join our hero as he discovers the wonders of Rome: the ruins, the food, the art, the opera, and—of course—the cats. Readers will cheer the daring of this bighearted dog, whose story shows that even the smallest among us can achieve great things.

Check out a reading of PAOLO by the author, Mac Barnett. Click here.

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

For published authors and unpublished authors, check out our writing contests.