When I was a child, there was at least one memorable day where our dog decided to take himself for a walk. I admit it never occurred to me to write that as a picture book, but today’s author did!

Marie Prins is the author of “The Girl From the Attic” (Common Deer Press 2020) which won First (Family) and Second Place (Mid-grade fiction) in the 2021 Purple Dragonfly Awards from StoryMonsters, Inc. It was also chosen for GettLitNow’s Summer Reading Olympiad 2021. And was a finalist in the Crystal Kite Awards for SCBWI Canada East 2020. Her picture book “Who’s Walking Dawg?” (Red Deer Press 2024) was inspired by her dog Chester who sometimes followed his nose out of the yard. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram.

WHO’S WALKING DAWG? is a picture book about a pooch who desperately needs out to do his business. But everyone in the family is too busy and preoccupied to pay attention. Dawg discovers that the front door has been left open and takes care of business himself. Then he enjoys a nice jaunt to his favorite places. By the time the family realizes he’s missing and the door was ajar, they are in full panic mode. Will there be a happy ending for Dawg? I won’t spoil anything. This is a really fun read. The illustrations by Leanne Franson look to be watercolor. They are soft, yet energetic at the same time. That’s hard to describe and hard to capture. They really are fantastic!

Welcome Marie!

Me: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey? How has that brought you to writing this picture book?

Marie: On a whim in 2008, I took a memoir writing course and discovered I loved to write short pieces about incidents in my life. That was the beginning of digging into memoir and nature writing. Some of these pieces have been published in my local writers group Hill Spirits Anthologies II-VI over the past ten years.

In 2011, I signed up for a children’s writing course. The last assignment was to write the first chapter of a fantasy novel. That was the start of my mid-grade novel, a dual narrative, time-travel story which took me eight years to write, but was published in late 2020 by a small Canadian press. By then I had joined the 12×12 Picture Book Challenge believing that picture books might be easier to write. Ha! I had no idea how wrong I was! When I submitted my stories to my SCBWI critique group, I received feedback that they sounded more like short stories. No surprise. I was advised to get my word count down and allow the illustrator to do their job.

Me: The idea of a dog who takes himself for a walk is funny. What gave you the idea for this story?

Marie: By this time, I had read many picture books and sort of understood what my CPs meant. All right, I told myself, let’s do this. Let’s write a “skeleton” story concentrating on story arc, maybe under 500 words. What should I write? Well, sometimes my rascally dog Chester ventured out of our yard for a jaunt down the street. What if, I asked myself, he took off to the dog park on his own? In my head, I imagined his solo trip and his return home. Then I wondered who he lived with and why wouldn’t they take him on his daily walk? As I answered these questions over the next month, I pulled Dawg’s story together fairly quickly because I could envision a scenario in which his pressing needs propelled him outdoors and on an adventure. The ending for Dawg popped into my head when a gifted picture book writer suggested a mentor text with a wordless last spread. My illustrator Leanne Franson perfectly depicted the story’s wordless conclusion in the last scene with Dawg and his family.

Me: Some of your lines had me giggling at the double meanings. Dawg whizzing around the yard, for instance. Your sense of humor definitely comes through. Was your story like this from the first draft? Or were there a lot of revisions to get to this state?

Marie: Dawg went through many revisions, but its story arc didn’t change much. I played around with its rhythms, always trying to keep word count down while crafting every single line. My CPs suggested some of the word changes. For instance – “scintillating” to describe “smells.” “Whizz” showed up with “wink” much later in the revisions, probably as an inspiration out of the blue one day. Same with “a whine and a woooof.” I lean heavily into alliteration. The “panic of rabbits” was there from the start. The names for the dog games in the park came from watching Chester and his friends play together.

Me: Dogs walk for exercise but also out of necessity. You included allusions to Dawg doing his business, but it was very subtle. Did you get any push back about including potty references from critique groups or editors? Why did you include those small mentions of it?

Marie: The “oops, no poop bag” was always part of the story because that sometimes happened when I walked my own dog. He was quite discreet about where he did his business, so Dawg chose a clump of weeds too. All very realistic. Authors write what they know, wink wink. There was no push back from anyone on this topic.

Me:  The illustrations by Leanne Franson are so vibrant! I love her painterly approach and all the energy her illustrations convey. Did you include art notes for Dawg’s speech bubbles or was that all her? Any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?

Marie: I was delighted with Leanne Franson’s illustrations! She asked through our editor what kinds of dogs I envisioned for the story. My own pooch was quite small. I made suggestions, but Leanne’s choice of a golden doodle for Dawg is perfect. As are her other choices for the dogs in the park.

There were very few art notes in the manuscript I submitted. Just an action note about the dogs leaving the park and then a lengthier one about the wordless spread at the end. I was very specific and firm about that one as I wanted the ending to convey a subtle but important message. The speech bubbles appeared in the story from the beginning. A few were omitted in the final version by my editor.

I love the way Leanne illustrated the park scenes as they move the action forward so well. I also love her vibrant palette that gives the story so much energy.

Me: What is one thing that surprised you in writing this story?

Marie: Even though Dawg’s story is humorous and light-hearted, I wanted to write it in such a way that the hum of daily family life pulses in the background. Today’s families are so busy! Both parents work. Kids have many activities and interests. And no one likes doing chores. So balls are dropped, like walking a desperate dog. But at the end of the day, I wanted things to work out, sort of. Maybe the family doesn’t really change, nor the dog, but still life goes on quite nicely in this warm, loving home. I think kids relate to Dawg because sometimes their needs aren’t met right away either. That was a hard thing to hint at in writing this story. But I definitely want to reassure the child reader that they’re loved even when life isn’t perfect.

Me: Any advice for new picture book writers?

Marie: When asked this question, almost every writer advises others not to give up even though the journey to publication is often so discouraging. Frequently, I still need to encourage myself to keep going on. As one travels this road, it’s so important to work hard at the craft of writing. By this I mean wrestling with word choice like great verbs, trimming extraneous words, and paying attention to the rhythm of language. It’s essential to join a good critique group. Feedback is super important! And write what you love.  

Thanks for stopping by my blog today Marie.

Dear readers, this book was published in January. It’s a funny dog story with chuckles that everyone will love and vibrant illustrations. I highly recommend it.