Today I welcome Stephanie Calmenson to Best Dog Books, a blog that features interviews with authors who’ve written a canine story for kids or young adults.

AOB: What is the title of your book? Pub date and publisher? Genre? Targeted age group? Illustrator?

NO DOGS ALLOWED! (Ready, Set, Dogs! – Book 1)

by Stephanie Calmenson and Joanna Cole

October 1, 2013  Henry Holt/Macmillan

Fiction/chapter book  Ages 6 – 9

Illustrated by Heather Ross

ISBN: 9780805096453

AOB: Who is your key dog character(s) and what kind of dog is he/she? Feel free to list as many different breeds or mixes as necessary. Tell us a little more about him/her.

* Kate and Lucie are mixed breed dogs.  Wait, now they’re girls.  No, they’re dogs!  Girls…dogs… girls…dogs!  Well, when they’re dogs, Kate is a Jack Russell mix.  Lucie is a … um…uh…she’s…hmm.  Your call!

AOB: In 70 words or less, provide a succinct plot description of your story.

* Kate and Lucie are best friends who desperately want, but can’t have dogs.  At The Lucky Find Thrift Shop one day, they find two sparkly pink dog bone necklaces. Trying them on in the dressing room, they like what they see, say “Woofa-woof”, and give each other high fives. With a pop and a whoosh, the necklaces light up and Kate and Lucie are no longer girls — they’re dogs!

Woofa-wow!

Does your book have a starred review from Kirkus? If so, can you provide the link:

*Not reviewed yet.

Other links to reviews or blurbs you wish to share:

Amazon’s “Best Children’s Books of 2013” Ages 6 – 8

AOB: What inspired you to write this story?

* Co-author Joanna Cole and I wanted to write books for kids who, like us when we were growing up, want a dog more than anything but can’t have one.

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

* We needed to find the magic that would transform the girls.  The dog bone necklaces seemed the perfect solution.

AOB: What other books have you written? Do any of them feature a key dog character? If so, which ones? What are these stories about?

* I’m best known for my picture books for young children.  The Ready, Set, Dog! series is my first venture into this format.

AOB: What kind of story can we expect next from you? Is it about a dog? If so, what is it about?

*    I’ve written two nonfiction books about my own dogs.  One book is Rosie, A Visiting Dog’s Story about raising, training and volunteering with a Certified Visiting Dog who cheers people when they are sad, or sick, or lonely.

The other book is May I Pet Your Dog? The How-to Guide for KIDS Meeting DOGS (and DOGS Meeting KIDS) in which my dachshund Harry has fun teaching kids (and adults, too!) the safe way to meet dogs.

Next up is a (mostly) true story about Harry and his best friend, Jeeter, a poodle.

AOB: What else would you like us to know about you or your story?

* I grew up with a mom who liked dogs, but was very afraid of them.  So, as a kid I didn’t have a dog and didn’t get to spend much time with any.  As soon as I was living on my own and working at home, I got the  dog I’d always dreamed of — Rosie. I’ve had a dog in my life ever since and dogs have become a large part of my writing life.

AOB: Can you remember the first book that made an impact on you? And why?

* Heidi by Johanna Spyri.  Her grandfather’s love, the Swiss Alps setting, the joy Heidi brought to Clara and how she helped Clara to walk touched my heart.  I almost gave Rosie the name Heidi, hoping she’d make others happy the way Heidi did. I ended up naming her Rosie because I immediately saw her rosie disposition and, sure enough, she’s brought much joy to many people.

AOB: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

* Write about what you love.

AOB: Where can readers go to find out more information about you and/or your books?

Web page: site currently works on computers only, not tablets or phones; new site in the works

Facebook

Rosie, A Visiting Dog’s Story

May I Pet Your Dog?

Twitter

Linkedin

Children’s Literature Network

Thank you, Stephanie Calmenson, for joining us at Best Dog Books! We look forward to your future dog books!!

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.

While the blog, Best Dog Books primarily focuses on author interviews, from time to time, I will honor dog books written by authors no longer with us. That said, I’d like to share one book from my childhood that made a huge impression on me when I was ten years old:

RING: A FRONTIER DOG

NY: Prentice-Hall, 1921

Written by Walter McCaleb

Illustrated by Edwin Megargee

One autumn Sunday in 1973 not long after we moved from New Jersey to New England—specifically to Northampton, Massachusetts, my parents took me and my siblings antique shopping along country roads through the Berkshire Hills. It was peak season. So the maples popped red-orange against vibrant green pines and pastures dotted by grazing white horses. With blue skies the air was as crisp as a McIntosh apple.

When we reached the Antique Shop, a former tobacco barn, my mother handed each of us a dollar. And we all darted out of the station wagon in search of finding something special. A leather bound book featuring a headshot of a black dog, named Ring on the cover caught my eye. Not surprisingly, Ring wore a white collar of fur around his neck. His eyes were big, round, and inviting—just like those of our family dog, a black cocker mix named Emma.

As I opened the book, the artwork by Edwin Megargee appealed to me most. His work looked as real as photographs with tissue paper protecting each page-length illustration. Pencil drawings mostly of dogs lined the top of each new chapter and told a story in images as I flipped through the pages from start to finish.

I was sold!

Like Old Yeller, the ending made me cry. So I only read the book once because the feeling I had experienced had stayed with me long after I had turned the last page. I didn’t need to relive it by re-reading the book. As sad as it had been to experience Ring’s fate and his dying loyalty to his family, I held onto this book into adulthood even though I had donated many other good books over the years to create space for newer books. So why did I keep this book, I often wondered? Was it the fancy and expensive-looking illustrations? The gorgeous leather bound cover? These were the answers I had come up with until I started to write my own stories.

After I revised Lara’s Gift, I decided to re-read Ring: A Frontier Dog to see if it would produce the same kind of feeling I had had as a kid. And wow! While the language is dated (with expressions like “Gee whilikins!” and “Geep!”) and more typical of language from the early 1900s, I was amazed at how the writing and story brought me right back to when I was ten reading it for the first time. And even though I knew the big scene was coming, it still made me cry just as it had forty years ago.

So I revise my answer of why I always kept Ring: A Frontier Dog because Walter McCaleb makes us care about Ring just as any modern day writer would do through the careful choices of scenes he selected to show us exactly who Ring was such that we care about him just as we would for any of our own loyal dogs. For this reason, I will continue to hold onto Ring: A Frontier Dog as a reminder of how important it is to make our readers feel their way through our stories and because I have no doubt of how it will make me feel should I pick it up again in forty years for a good read and cry.

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 Sam Angus to Best Dog Books, a blog that features interviews with authors who’ve written a canine story for kids or young adults.

AOB: What is the title of your book? Pub date and publisher? Genre? Targeted age group? Illustrator?

Soldier Dog, Macmillan 2013

AOB: Who is your key dog character(s) and what kind of dog is he/she? Feel free to list as many different breeds or mixes as necessary. Tell us a little more about him/her.

There are two dogs, Soldier who is a mongrel, fast and quick-witted and a collie /greyhound cross. The other dog is Bones, a Great Dane, big and playful and very loyal.

AOB: In 70 words or less, provide a succinct plot description of your story.

In May 1917, his brother fighting in France, his mother dead, the 13 year old Stanley is left alone with his Father and in trouble. He’s lost his father’s prized greyhound. Rocket is missing and in heat. When her mongrel puppies are born Stanley saves the runt, and names him Soldier for his brother Tom but his father, Dixon threatens to drown the pups. Stanley wakes to find the puppies and  his father gone. Fearing the worst, he runs away and enlists and is recruited into the Messenger Dog Service where he is given a Great Dane named Bones. Stanley manages to train this unlikely messenger dog and eventually Bones and he are sent to France, where he realizes, finally, the brutality of war, and of course, the difficulty of finding Tom. Bones is killed in the course of action and the devastated Stanley longs to reveal his age and return home but he is given a dog named Pistol, and commanded to stay. Pistol is a traumatized, shivering wreck but the two are drawn to each other …

AOB: What inspired you to write this story?

One day, when not intending to write a book at all, I was stuck in a traffic jam on Park Lane in London, when I heard the story of the life of Airedale Jack, a British messenger dog. Jack’s story sent a shiver down my spine, even in the blistering heat of a July day in London and I knew then that I would write a story about the messenger dogs.

Other links to reviews or blurbs you wish to share:

The Guardian

Randomly Reading

Soldier Dog is a truly amazing book, and one of which the like is hard to find. I haven’t read a book like this in a long time – it made me laugh and smile, and feel as if I was there with the characters – feeling what they were feeling, seeing what they were seeing. And best of all – it had me sobbing for about the last four chapters. Soldier Dog should be on everybody’s list of must reads.

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

Hiding from my children. Writing in the car on a mobile telephone.

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

What are these stories about?

I have written a second novel, Hero, about a horse, no other books so far about a dog.

AOB: What kind of story can we expect next from you? Is it about a dog? If so, what is it about?

I am writing now about a donkey and a camel. My next book will again be about a dog ….

AOB: Can you remember the first book that made an impact on you? And why?

The Dolphin Crossing, by Jill Paton-Walsh. For its youthful enthusiasm, bravery and heroism.

AOB: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Just write. Read and write, then read and write some more.

AOB: Where can readers go to find out more information about you and/or your books?

Web page 

Soldier Dog

Facebook

Thank you Sam Angus for joining us on Best Dog Books! I look forward to reading your book!!

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 Stephanie Calmenson to Best Dog Books, a blog that features interviews with authors who’ve written a canine story for kids or young adults.

AOB: What is the title of your book? Pub date and publisher? Genre? Targeted age group? Illustrator?

* Rosie, A Visiting Dog’s Story  1994  Clarion Books/HMH   Nonfiction/Photo-essay  Ages 5 and up.  Photographs by Justin Sutcliffe   ISBN-13: 978-0395927229

AOB: Who is your key dog character(s) and what kind of dog is he/she? Feel free to list as many different breeds or mixes as necessary. Tell us a little more about him/her.

* Rosie is an irresistible, shaggy black-and-white TT (that’s short for Tibetan Terrier).  Interestingly, TT’s are not terriers.  They are part of the non-sporting dog group, and their official name is Dhoki Apso. Rosie loves to play fetch, have her belly rubbed, and meet new people.

AOB: In 70 words or less, provide a succinct plot description of your story.

* A confident and happy puppy, Rosie was the perfect candidate for a visiting dog program.  Rosie, A Visiting Dog’s Story is a photo-essay book about the raising and training of a visiting dog.  Readers get to join Rosie on visits to hospitals, nursing homes, and special schools as she cheers up people who are sad, sick, or lonely.  Go, Rosie!

Other links to reviews or blurbs you wish to share:

* Robert Lipsyte writes about Rosie in the New York Times:

Smithsonian Magazine calls ROSIE, A VISITING DOG’S STORY “one of the outstanding nonfiction titles of the year.”

AOB: What inspired you to write this story?

* I wanted to share Rosie’s story in the hope of getting more people involved in Visiting Dog programs. Rosie’s brought so much joy to people in need and, through her work and the book, has inspired many others to become pet partners.

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

* Rosie’s great in front of a camera, but I’m definitely camera shy!  I considered getting a model for the book, but when I speak at schools and conferences, people want to see the real team.  The way I overcame the challenge was to have a gifted photographer, Justin Sutcliffe, perform his magic with a camera.

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

What are these stories about?

* My friend and colleague Joanna Cole (Magic School Bus author) and I have just started a series called, Ready, Set, Dogs!  Growing up, we each wanted a dog more than anything, but couldn’t  have one.  So, starting with NO DOGS ALLOWED!, the Ready, Set, Dogs! books feature Kate and Lucie, two best friends who desperately want, but can’t have dogs.  Browsing in their local thrift shop on day, they find two necklaces with sparkly pink dog bones and quickly discover their magic: With a pop and a whoosh, Kate and Lucie turn into dogs! Woofa-wow!

AOB: What kind of story can we expect next from you? Is it about a dog? If so, what is it about?

*    Joanna and I are having a great time writing the Ready, Set, Dogs! series.  Book 2 is called Teacher’s Pets, so get ready to see Kate and Lucie as dogs at school!

     The other book I’m working on is a new one about my dachshund Harry, who is the star of the book May I Pet Your Dog? The How-to Guide for KIDS Meeting DOGS (and DOGS Meeting KIDS), a Horn Book Fanfare title and ALA Best Children’s Video.

AOB: What else would you like us to know about you or your story?

* Though it was pretty disappointing being a dogless kid, I had more than a dozen stuffed dogs to keep me company and my love of dogs stayed strong.  That lifelong passion led me to write the books about dogs — both fiction and nonfiction — that I’m known for today.  I get lots of fan mail about Rosie from both grown-ups and children, and especially love getting pictures of Rosie drawn by kids.

AOB: Can you remember the first book that made an impact on you? And why?

* Heidi by Johanna Spyri.  Her grandfather’s love, the Swiss Alps setting, the joy Heidi brought to Clara and how she helped Clara to walk touched my heart.  I almost gave Rosie the name Heidi, hoping she’d make others happy the way Heidi did. I ended up naming her Rosie, because I immediately saw her rosie disposition and, sure enough, she’s brought much joy to many people.

AOB: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

* Write about what you love.

AOB: Where can readers go to find out more information about you and/or your books?

Web page: site currently works on computers only, not tablets or phones; new site in the works

Facebook

Rosie, A Visiting Dog’s Story

May I Pet Your Dog?

Twitter

Linkedin

Children’s Literature Network

Thank you, Stephanie Calmenson, for joining us at Best Dog Books!

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.

A few weeks ago, Tami Lewis Brown sent me a link and asked me if I had seen the borzoi illustrations Maurice Sendak had done for Nikolenka’s Childhood, Leo Tolstoy’s first publication and near autobiographical account of his childhood.

Shamefully I had not and immediately placed an order. Via mail I received a collector’s copy of Nikolenka’s Childhood with Sendak’s signature prominently featured under his printed name.

Although a million errands demanded my attention, I decided to cuddle up in bed under a down blanket with a movie-sized box of Milk Duds, a cup of chai, and my faithful borzoi and silken windhound to keep me company as I was transported to pre-Revolutionary Russia.

All I can say is, “Double Wow!”

I wish I had discovered Nikolenka’s Childhood before Lara’s Gift went to print! Talk about authentic details I could have “borrowed” from Tolstoy like: wattle fence, abacus, the borzoi names “Milka” and “Zhiran,” fichu, caracole, nankeen coat, hussar, a calash, a britzka, vellum paper, Moscow clothes, tortoise-shell snuffbox, epaulets, turned-up little nose, game of robbers, birdlike face, scullion, hot iron pincers, use of “thou” and “thee,” mantilla, music of the quadrille, mazurka, drawing room, Hoffman’s drops, cornice, kutya, dropsy, unction, and tallow.

Borzoi fans will not only savor chapters six thru seven, we will thank Tolstoy for planting us in an actual hunting scene and making us feel like we are also on the hunt. Unlike in Tolstoy’s War and Peace, readers experience a hunt from a childlike perspective and fully relate to Nikolenka’s desire to earn his father’s praise and the devastation he feels at failing in the hunt.

Besides relishing the details in Tolstoy’s writing, along with Sendak’s lovely illustrations of borzoi and life on a Russian country estate, my favorite scene can be found in chapter seventeen entitled, “The Ivins,” for Tolstoy’s timeless and truthful approach in capturing Nikolenka’s desire to befriend Seryozha to the uncomfortable point where Nikolenka chooses to remain silent over Seryozha’s cruel treatment of another boy rather than question it and risk losing Seryozha as a friend.

What child doesn’t understand the fear and pain caused by a bully?

By chapter end, Nikolenka tries to make sense of “the only dark spot on the pages of his childhood recollections.”

I am quite unable to explain the cruelty of my behavior. Why did I not go up to him, protect, or console him? Where was the feeling of compassion which made me sob at the sight of a young jackdaw thrown from its nest, or of the puppy being taken to be thrown over the fence, or of a chicken the scullion was taking to make soup of? (108)

There are many other moments of truth throughout Nikolenka’s Childhood that remind us of our own childhood and tap into a wide range of our emotions: sorrow, joy, hope, love, and loss. Tolstoy once said that, “fiction, in order to be successful, should come singing from the author’s soul.” In Nikolenka’s Childhood, we hear Tolstoy’s song on each page and in every word.

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.