More words are always needed, to tell people about the words already written… so here are a few extra words to try and tempt you into reading Finley’s story:

Turning minor disasters into picture books       

Minor disasters happen all the time, but life’s little mishaps make great scenes in picture books, the messier the better.

A rolling dog is very annoying and smelly. Even if you don’t at first notice the smell, the flies soon will… and as you continue your walk, wondering where that awful smell is coming from, and why it seems to be following you home, your first thought may not be to sit down and do a quick sketch. But this is the sort of minor disaster that makes a wonderful scene in a picture book, even if it does bring back unpleasant memories as you draw the picture.

Getting knocked over is another scenario that doesn’t instantly feel inspirational. While sitting on the ground, assessing if limbs are still all pointing the right way, and giving an excited puppy the sort of look that conveys, even to him, that he should probably stop running around with the hat that fell off with the impact of the landing. And just maybe shaking the hat until it was dead, may not be the best idea, although the flying strands of wool would suggest that it was already too late for the pompom.

But it wasn’t all disasters, there was the joy of watching a tiny puppy grow and grow, until he grew into himself…

And all this from a puppy who came into the family masquerading as a cat, you’ll just have to read the book to see how that went.