Click the book cover for more information. Print a PDF of this page. My dog, Emma, the dog who guides you through this website, finally got her wish: a book about her! My challenge was to figure out how Emma could tell her story. A journal? A family photo album? What was her story anyhow? After many false starts, I decided to write some letters from Emma's point-of-view. Who was she writing to? It must be a canine 'Dear Abby'! That’s when the fun began!

Writing letters from a pet’s point of view

When I presented this book to a group of teachers in Kansas, one said, “I know exactly what I’m going to do with this book! A letter writing unit!”

Ask your students about their pets. (This always starts a flood of stories.) If someone doesn’t have a pet, is there a classroom hamster? goldfish? A friend’s pet? An imaginary pet? Discuss the gripes or problem their pet might have. (They don’t brush me enough. I hate my food. I don’t like to be left alone. Why can’t I sleep on the couch, sit at the table . . .) Ask them to write a letter (or an e-mail) to ‘Dear Queenie’, explaining the problem. Then ask them to write Queenie’s reply. OR: Have students exchange their letters with each other. Then have them write replies from Queenie.

From the dummy for Letters From a Desperate Dog

Write a story

1. Read some of the letters and replies.
2. Discuss how the pets will use Queenie’s advice.
3. Guess what! You’ve been brainstorming stories.
4. Write the story!

 
Talking about book design

You’ve probably noticed that I’ve drawn a lot of comic strips on this website. I wanted to use that format in this book. But I also wanted to take advantage of the picture book format. So I call this book a ‘comic-picture book’.

Discuss this format with your students. How does it differ from my other books? How is it the same?

Here is an example of where I’ve used a comic strip technique: (Pages 13–16 Letters From a Desperate Dog)

Emma hears a noise in the first panel. The comic strip continues for three pages, following the action. For the next few pages, it’s the pictures, instead of words, that describe the action.
What is going to happen next? Turn the page to find out! This is what I love about picture books—the surprise or resolution comes when the reader turns the page. In this case, the surprise is a full page illustration.	Images from the dummy for Letters From a Desperate Dog

 
Writing a story as a comic strip

In some schools I’ve visited, I’ve noticed students are writing their stories as illustrated comic strips or storyboards. I’ve collected some wonderful examples.

1. Use large sheets of drawing paper—at least 11” x 17”, drawing pencils (at least HB to make a strong black line), crayons
2. Divide the sheet into 4 – 6 sections.
3. Draw (and write) the beginning of the story in the first section, what happens next—in the next section, etc.
4. Dialogue can be in speech balloons.

The story below was given to me several years ago by a second(?) grader from a school outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.