Abby Sunshine

Dogs’ Night by Meredith Hooper illustrated by Allan Curless with paintings from The National Gallery   I recommend this book because it’s based on a very appealing premise. I love stories where an exciting idea comes to life–a place where you can travel in your imagination. In this story, I think about how cool it [...]

I am reminded of a comic strip I read in the newspaper this morning. The character is sitting with paper and pencil–thinking he would write down his thoughts–only to be surprised to find he had none! I wonder what Abby Sunshine is thinking right now.

There’s a barnyard dance and Kenwood kids will be there! Everyone looked color coordinated in their blue and yellow bandanas–getting more excited by the minute for the big dance this evening. This didn’t prevent some super second graders from being very good listeners while I read A Day With Abby Sunshine. We also had time [...]

Yesterday, Abby had an appointment with the vet. She was not particularly excited about it–and she certainly recognized the place. She was tentative from the moment we got out of the car. The good news is that she’s in excellent shape. Good dog, Abby!  

As dear as our little Abby is; as she is the sunshine of our day, we must admit that she doesn’t mind a bit of dirt. It snowed. The temperature is warmish, so the snow is very sticky–perfect for snowballs. Abby and I played fetch and when the tennis ball would roll in the snow, [...]

Abby and I went out to play ball and the water in her pool had frozen into a large flat disk! I turned the pool and it flopped onto the ground (like I was emptying a giant ice cube tray) and you can see Abby on it. I’m not sure Abby knew quite what to do [...]

Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever: Special Rare Breed Edition: A Comprehensive Owner’s Guide by Nona Kilgore Bauer I like this book because it has a lot of valuable information about Duck Tollers.  I haven’t found a lot of books out there about these cool dogs, but this one is good.  I was lucky enough to [...]

Some of you ask me about the big, cool pages I use when I read A Day With Abby Sunshine. I took this photograph of the pages on a large table before we cut them out. First, Maren and I revise, revise and revise the story and illustrations.  Then I get the pages printed-so we can [...]

  The bookstore and deli were bustling with people–children excitedly eating their after school snacks. Chatter filled the room; still some children were drawn to the book readers! I had the good fortune of some kids recognizing me (or the book cover with Abby Sunshine) and they greeted me warmly. I had been a reader [...]

Come listen to A Day With Abby Sunshine tomorrow!  We’d love to see you there! Check out the events page for more details.