Children's Books and Animals - A Week to Celebrate!

This post by Gayle M. Irwin

This week, the first week of May, is special to me for two reasons, well maybe three: Spring should actually be here to stay in my area, especially have a several-inch dumping of snow late last week; May 1 to 7 is Children’s Book Week, and it’s also considered Be Kind to Animals Week. Although spring is very important, especially to those of us in the west who deal with spring snow storms, I want to focus on the other two reasons I like this week: kids and books, and kindness and animals.

Children’s Book Week began in 1919 and is promoted by the Children’s Book Council. It’s a week to celebrate children’s books, children’s authors, reading, and writing. I remember falling in love with reading thanks to authors like E.B. White and Laura Ingalls Wilder and books such as Black Beauty, The Trumpet of the Swan, and Follow My Leader. Little did I know then that I’d grow up to write my own children’s books, with animals as characters and life lessons woven into those stories.

Be Kind to Animals Week is celebrated this week as well. Started nearly 100 years ago by American Humane, the idea is to teach children kindness toward animals, in particular to companion animals, like dogs and cats. I’m grateful this special recognition overlaps with Children’s Book Week, for, as an author of children’s books with animals as characters, I can integrate my authorship with events celebrating books, children, animals, and kindness. In fact, this week I’m blessed to have three events: two out-of-town and one at my community’s library. I’m sharing these events with other children’s book authors I’ve met. We’re reaching kids with strong, positive messages, such as kindness, self-confidence, and friendship, as well as providing activities, including making their own books. And my dog, Mary, is part of the “cast” at these events as well!

Mary has her own book, released last month. Titled A Kind Dog Named Mary, this book teaches kids the importance of pet adoption and the importance of being kind. I use real photos of my real dog, and having the children meet her and hear her story makes those vital lessons all the more vivid and real to them.

As an author, sometimes it’s challenging to tie our works into special recognitions, but it can be done. There are special days, weeks, and months for nearly all occasions – for example, did you know there’s a National Artichoke Hearts Day? Yep, it’s in March, the day before St. Patrick’s Day. Women’s History Month is also observed in March; for those who write historical fiction/romance, that might be a good time of year to tie in with your books. National History Day, a time of learning and competition for students, usually takes place in June; this, too, might be a good tie-in for those who write non-fiction or fiction books based in another time period.

Writing about animals, primarily dogs and cats, allows me to tie in with various observances, including Be Kind to Animals Week, but also Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month (June), Responsible Dog Ownership Days (September), Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month (October), and Adopt-A-Senior-Pet Month (November).  Last year, I conducted a few library programs and booksignings around Take Your Dog to Work Day, which happens the fourth Friday of June; my programs included information on the jobs that dogs do, including law enforcement, service to the disabled, and herding. I try to coordinate book events in October and November that will benefit my local animal shelter and hope to do so again this year.

As Children’s Book Week and Be Kind to Animals Week wrap up for this year, I’m working on my next children’s pet stories, to have available by the holiday season, maybe sooner since Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog Month occurs in October. Children and books, children and animals, and books about animals are all close to my heart, and it’s my desire to engage children with reading as well as writing and to remind them of the gifts of both literacy and pets.

What books intrigued you as a child? Were any of them, or the authors, reasons you became a writer? Do you have special times during the year that you tie your writings with? And, the biggest question of all – has anyone written a book about artichokes yet?! Have a great weekend everyone – Happy Writing!

Gayle M. Irwin is the author of several inspirational pet books for children and adults. She weaves life lessons into her works, including friendship, self-confidence, courage, and kindness. She is also a contributing writer to seven Chicken Soup for the Soul books and has a story in Sundown’s 2016 release Memories from Maple Street USA: Pawprints on My Heart. Learn more about Gayle at www.gaylemirwin.com. She also maintains a pet blog on her website, dispensing interesting and fun information about companion animals and volunteers for regional animal rescue organizations.

Be Inspired

This post by Gayle M. Irwin

“Every day is a fresh beginning. Every morn is the world made new.” – Susan Coolidge

That quote is on the January 2017 portion of my new calendar, a lovely creation by Blue Mountain Arts given as a gift by one of my friends. The calendar is titled “Follow My Lead – How dogs teach us to live a life of kindness, faithfulness, and unconditional love.” For the month of January, the heading says “Be Amazed.” Future months encourage taking time to be curious, to be in nature, and to relax – each one a bit of wisdom and an inspiration. My friend knows me well – nature and dogs inspire me. This calendar is now part of my home office, and each time I look at it, I will be inspired – by the headings, the various quotes, and the beautiful artistic drawings.

As I mentioned, dogs inspire me. Whether my own pets, the dogs of others, or the rescued ones I’ve assisted, they have been, and are, a focus of my writing. I enjoy cats, too, and recently I’ve created some cat stories, ones that have run in my local weekly paper as a reading for children. However, dogs seem to be more my forte’ so I continue my quest to create inspirational short stories and books with canines as the main character.

Her name was Jazmine. She was on a journey, and I was part of that adventure. When she arrived at my car in Casper, Jazmine had already traveled more than four hours from her foster home in southern Wyoming. I was taking her another two-plus hours north, and someone else was taking her an additional two hours into Montana. Her final destination? Calgary, Canada, where her adoptive family awaited her. That would take another full driving day.

         

As I gazed at the elegant, yet scarred face of this rescue dog, a gentle giant who had been abandoned in the wilds of Wyoming’s Red Desert by someone she once trusted, I marveled at the tenacity, not only of Jazmine, but of most rescue dogs. Going from one family to another, having to adjust not only to new humans, but to a different home, oftentimes with new rules and expectations, at times to once again be left behind at an animal shelter filled with strange voices, other sounds, and smells: all that takes courage and perseverance. Then waiting, whether in cages or in foster homes, for yet another family and try again to settle in and be accepted – that, too, takes bravery and tenacity. And, here was Jazmine, me the third person in a day she’d accompanied: her foster parent, transporter #1; me transporter #2, and her journey had barely begun. She had thousands of miles yet to travel, and would encounter yet another five transporters at least before finally meeting the family who had adopted her. How would she fare once she arrived ‘home?’ How would she be treated? And how confusing all this must, and would, be for a dog who sought only to give devotion and love.

Jazmine and her adoptive family in Canada.

So starts a short story I’m working on for an anthology about dogs; deadline is later this month, and I’m hopeful for its acceptance. But, Jazmine didn’t just inspire a 1,000-word story; she’s inspired a children’s book that I’m also currently working on. The story is told from her perspective, much like the award-winning children’s book A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin. I read a segment of my manuscript during a writer’s open mic night in my community; many people came up to me afterwards with encouraging sentiments. One woman even had tears in her eyes and told me about the rescue organization in another state that her daughter operates. My goal with this book is to teach as well as to inspire: to teach children about the plights of homeless animals and about the people who rescue and help them, and to inspire those children and their parents to help pet rescue organizations through volunteering, donating, and educating their friends. Jazmine’s story, her life, is one of courage, perseverance, love, and second chances (see above photo). Her life is an inspiration, and I look forward to sharing her story – whether as an article, a book, or both – this year.

A new year has dawned. May you find many wonderful treasures to inspire you in 2017, whether it’s pets, nature, your family, even strangers. Inspiration is all around us – we only have to be aware through our senses and our intuition and to open our hearts to the wonderful discoveries. 

Gayle M. Irwin is the author of several inspirational pet books for children and adults. She is also a contributing writer for six Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and she has a story in Sundown Press' summer 2016 release Memories from Maple Street USA: Pawprints on My Heart. She helps several Rocky Mountain region pet rescue organization with events, by transporting rescued pets, and through donating a percentage of her book sales to these groups. Gayle enjoys sharing about the pet-human bond and believes people can learn a lot from animals. Learn more about Gayle and her work at www.gaylemirwin.com.