 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||
 |
Publisher - Clarion Books “A lively picture book that stars Walter, the family dog,
and his young mistress, Louise, in a series of holiday misadventures...
Don’t wait for Christmas to share this entertaining romp one-on-one
or in a family read-aloud.” Other books inspired by true stories...
|
| The Story: |
Walter, the dog, can't wait until Christmas. Louise bought him
a present. His nose knows what it is and his paws are itching to
open it. "Not until Christmas, Walter!" Louise reminds him as she
puts her wrapped packages in the living room. The next morning,
the packages are gone! A trail of chewed wrapping paper and dog
biscuit crumbs leads Louise to the culprit. And it lands Walter
in the doghouse. It's hard to stay mad, though, at a dog whose
tail-thumping enthusiasm adds so much to the Christmas spirit.
Even a busy nighttime visitor dressed in red succumbs to Walter's
biscuit-begging charms. Borrowing from picture book and chapter
book formats, this book is ideal for newly independent readers
to read to themselves or to younger children. |
| Where did you get the idea?: | I was at a Christmas
party and someone told me how, a few days earlier, her eight-year-old
daughter wrapped presents for all the family, including the dog,
and put them under the tree. The next morning, the family awakened
to chewed wrapping paper and dog biscuit crumbs all over the living
room. Their dog couldn't wait for Christmas. And I couldn't wait
to get home to try to turn her story into a picture book. My friend's
tale became the first chapter of my story. |
| Tidbits: |
The dedication: My old dog, Ophelia, was the model for Walter.
Sadly, just as I was finishing the illustrations for this book, Ophelia
became very ill and died. (She was twelve, which is getting old for
a dog.) This book is dedicated to her memory. Ophelia is in several
of my other picture books. Which ones? Just look for a black and
white dog! The setting: Louise lives in a place that looks a lot like Vermont, where I live. And like Louise, we have often hiked into our woods to find a Christmas tree. If the trees were too scrawny, we would cut two and tie them together-just as Louise did. Dog's noses: Do you know that a dog's sense of smell is many times better than a human's? Which is why Walter knew exactly what he was getting for Christmas! The Christmas I wrote this story, I wrapped a dog biscuit for my dog, Ophelia. I left it in a place where she would find it. I was curious to see if she would do the same thing Walter did. Surprise! she moved it slightly; but she did not unwrap the package! Do you have a dog? Is your dog a package-unwrapper? My new dog, Emma, is definitely a package-unwrapper. The illustrations:
|
| Other Books Inspired by True Stories: | |