If you’ve ever loved and lost a pet and learned to open your heart to a new pet friend, you’ll love this book by author Amy Hest and illustrator Amy Bates (aka Amy June Bates). Amy Hest immediately pulls you into the story by writing from a little boy’s perspective. When a puppy wanders into the little boy’s life, he tries his very best not to love him. He has lost his “old pal” and does not want to go through the pain of loss again. No way. But then a storm comes… To find out what happens, you’ll have to read the book yourself!
I’m still in awe of how Amy Hest achieved a complete character arc in 450 words….because it’s true what they say… Picture book writing is like poetry…and it’s very hard! I love the wonderful illustrations by Amy Bates. They compliment the tender story so perfectly and make you want to reach out and cuddle that puppy!
Check out this great interview with Amy Hest. I found it very encouraging!
“Type. Read. Delete. That goes on for minutes … hours … days on end, even years! But occasionally, very occasionally, I delete less. And while my computer screen might be filled with a lot of terrible sentences that don’t amount to anything resembling a decent story, I get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, there is a story in there. Somewhere. So, I keep at it. Type. Read. Delete. Delete less, type more, read out loud to hear how it sounds. Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite. And then one day – and this often is years after my first attempt (yes, even the picture book that looks so easy to write can take more than a year to write) – a viable story!” – Amy Hest