Lisa Cohn's Blog, page 4

Who is the Inspiring Librarian in our Next Children’s Book?

The inspiring librarian in our next–and fourth–children’s book is Ally, Bash’s older sister.

Not only is she a comforting presence when Bash is upset. She’s also the mayor and the founder of a dance troupe, “Impulsive!” She is a special kind of leader; she leads without people knowing she’s leading them.

In the fourth Bash and Lucy book, Bash runs to the library whenever he’s upset. In the library, not only does his sister comfort him. So do the dusty paper scents of books, book marks, hold slips, and scrap paper.

In Bash and Lucy Book four, someone has been stealing Bash’s favorite dog books from the library and replacing them with video games. Bash is crushed that this is happening, and feels like the thefts are a personal attack on him. Ally, along with Grandma Vera and Bash, conduct an investigation to find out who is stealing the books.

Ally and the library are also important because this is where the Roving Reader Leaders meet to discuss books. Check out the real Roving Reader Leaders in this video:

Our upcoming Bash and Lucy book also includes many references to much-loved dog books. They include Survivors, Nate the Great, Good Dog, Carl, Because of Winn Dixie, Ginger Pie and many others! When kids read our fourth book, they’ll get lots of reading ideas!

As you may have surmised, dog books are an important part of Bash and Lucy Book 4.

And so are dogs! Be sure to watch young Michael frolic with puppy Hudson in our very first book trailer:

And don’t forget to listen to our last audiobook, which includes voice-overs by Michael, friends and family members–including Ally, Michael’s sister in real life:

Stay tuned! We are now working on the cover for the fourth book, and will be sharing it shortly. The book will be released very soon!

Questions? Email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com

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What Kids Will Learn About Ukraine from Our Upcoming Kids’ Book

Vera and Michael

When we began writing our fourth–and soon to be released–kids’ book a few years ago, Russia had not yet invaded Ukraine.

At the time, we chose to make Michael’s surrogate grandmother from Ukraine, Vera, a main character. (You can see her in the photo above with Michael. They are both wearing Ukrainian-made shirts.)

In real life, Vera is opinionated, smart, funny, a do-gooder and has shown incredible resilience in the face of adversity. In short, she’s a strong female character whose opinions, goodness and leadership skills will inspire our readers, we hope.

Now that war is raging in Ukraine, we want our upcoming kids’ book (Book 4), through Vera’s character, to teach kids about Ukraine’s history and people.

In the book, Vera is Bash’s Ukrainian grandmother and the assistant mayor of the town of Woof-Woof Nation.

Along with Mayor Ally, Vera is trying to teach people to work together and get along better.

Bash and another boy from his school visit town hall and discover that Vera’s portrait–along with a story about her life–are hanging in town hall in an exhibit about local immigrants.

Readers learn that Vera grew up in Soviet-occupied Ukraine, the second largest country in Europe. At the time, the Soviets from the Soviet Union has control of everything Vera was allowed to do, and weren’t very nice to her. Vera and her family members were always hungry. To help keep her children fed, Vera’s mother planted a special kind of edible grass, as well as sugar beets. Later, Vera also worked hard to keep her children fed, working two jobs and sewing clothes at night and selling them.

Read the story Lisa wrote about Vera here:

She is a Girl-Power Grandma

Vera is always looking to help others. Right now, she collects money babysitting and selling her home-made food, then sends the proceeds to help out the people of Ukraine in the midst of the horrible war.

Vera illustration

Vera’s daughter, Tatiana, follows in her mother’s footsteps as a do-gooder. While Tatiana is not a character in the book, you can learn more about the war in Ukraine and Tatiana’s role in the Portland community as a leader by reading Lisa’s story here:

Fighting back tears at a rally she organized a few days after the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tatiana Terdal still managed to draw laughs from the 300or so people who had gathered at Portland’s Salmon Street Springs Fountain on a cold, rainy afternoon.

“I promise you, we will have a great festival when Putin’s troops are out of Ukraine. We will sing and dance and maybe there will be free borscht the way there was free borscht when Stalin died, and everyone will be invited,” she said.

Read the entire story here:

Portland Ukrainians’ Plea: Do Something

Vera was a voice-over artist in our last book. You can listen here:

Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts audiobook

Don’t forget to watch Michael (wearing his Ukrainian shirt) dedicate our third book to Vera:

Questions? Feel free to email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com

 

 

 

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Our Next Book Creates “Much Dog Love”

 

Hudson

In our upcoming book–our fourth–Bash’s Grandma Vera, the assistant mayor, wants to create “much dog love.” She urges people to listen to each other, in fact, to listen like a dog. 

Here’s how Bash interprets her suggestion:

Listening like a dog  meant sitting absolutely still and gazing into the speaker’s eyes. It meant wordlessly communicating to the speaker that you sensed their anger and wanted to make things right with a lick or a smooch or a romp in the park. Following a dog’s lead also meant looking on the positive side of a bad situation, running when a hip was sore, or chasing a ball down a hill because it was more fun than sitting still. It meant cherishing a treat or a toy as if you’d never had one before.

In the book, Vera and Ally–Bash’s mayor-librarian-dancer sister–want people to get along better, and they’re sure that teaching people about how dogs love is the way to do this.

The “real” Ally with Hudson

They come up with some fun ideas for spreading the word. For example, Vera and Ally establish daily dog holidays. Every day, one student can bring a dog to school. 

Here’s another excerpt. Grandma Vera is sitting in the back of Bash’s classroom, embroidering and talking on the phone with Mayor Ally. (Vera, an immigrant from Ukraine, has a strong accent).

While Grandma Vera and Ally chatted, Lucy roamed the room, kissing kids’ hands, leaning against their chairs, and nuzzling the noses of kids who tipped their chairs toward her. 

“Today is Roll Down a Hill with Your Dog Day,” said Grandma Vera. “It ees good.” She listened to Ally’s response, then said, “Yes, I like. Tomorrow is Go on a Date with Your Dog Day. And yes, next week, all week, should be Read to a Dog at Your Local Library Week. Kids sign up to be readers, they read to a dog, they write a story about how it felt.”

She listened to Ally. “Yes, good idea. Kids read stories out loud at the main library. We record and do podcast to make much dog love.”

Stay tuned, the book will be released very soon! Questions? Email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com

And don’t forget to watch our one-minute book trailer, filmed when Michael was five and Hudson was a puppy!

 

 

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Puppy Videos, Interviewing Authors, School Presentations: Our Favorites!

Hudson learning to swim

Looking back, we’ve chosen some of our favorite blog posts on Bash and Lucy–puppy videos, our Roving Reader Leaders interviewing authors and our school presentations.

We’ve created a number of puppy videos over the years-about autism service dogs, our puppy barking when his favorite person is taking a bath and our pup learning to swim, for example. But our favorite is our Bash and Lucy book trailer, featuring 5=-year-old Michael and puppy Hudson romping in a park. An award-winning teen videographer produced the video and nine years later, it still makes us smile.

Watch it here:

Another favorite video features some of the book-loving Roving Reader Leaders interviewing author Troy Cummings about his Notebook of Doom book series. We love how excited the readers are–and how they demonstrate their deep knowledge of the series. Watch it here:

In addition to interviewing authors, we met with kids from all over the world, via Skype in the Classroom, to talk about how we created our Bash and Lucy book series. We often asked them to brainstorm ideas for our next books, and loved their ideas!

Here’s a fun example:

This list wouldn’t be complete without the video in which Michael dedicates our third book to Vera, his surrogate grandma from Ukraine. This video has a lot of heart!

Vera plays an important role in our upcoming book-our fourth–which is getting closer and closer to publication. She’s Bash’s grandma, a leader in the community and along with Mayor Ally, Bash’s sister, a force for good.

This blog wouldn’t be complete without sharing our first audiobook, narrated by Lisa, Michael and friends.

Listen here:

Questions? Want us to visit your classroom? Want to get an early review copy of our next book? Be sure to email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com.

 

 

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Dog Power in our 4th Bash and Lucy Children’s Book

Illustration for Book 4

Dog power is a theme in our upcoming Bash and Lucy book (#4).

And what’s dog power? It’s dogs’ ability to change lives, in the way that golden retriever Hudson changes Coach Danny for the better in our book series.

It’s dogs’ ability to comfort, whether rushing to the side of a crying child, or using their super noses to sniff anxiety in a person and trying to soothe them. In fact, new research from Queens University shows that our canine friends can smell when people are anxious or stressed, according to an article in The Week magazine for kids.
In the study, four dogs were able to sniff the difference between people who were stressed from taking a difficult math test and people who had not taken the test. The study could be used to help train therapy dogs.

Dogs can  be trained as Autism Service Dogs, learning how to apply pressure to a child’s body when the child is anxious.

And they can use their super sniffers to identify when a diabetic child has low blood sugar–and then sound the alarm. They do this by trying to “tell” the child and people around him or her that something is wrong.

Dogs have other superpowers. They can sniff out COVID in schools. This helps schools and other organizations identify whether people are infected with the virus. In fact, a dog’s nose can be more accurate than a PCR test, according to an article in Smithsonian Magazine.

In our fourth book, Mayor Ally and Assistant Mayor Vera work hard to ensure people understand the power of dogs, and they use dogs’ unique abilities to help teach people how to get along and work together. What’s more, Ally and Vera learn about golden retriever Lucy’s special power, and take advantage of that trait to solve a mystery.

We just received the illustrations for our next kids’ dog book from our talented artist, Heather Nichols, and will soon be releasing it. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, be sure to watch our first book trailer, featuring 5-year-old Michael and puppy Hudson. We promise this one-minute video will make you smile!

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Famous Rescue Dog, Frida, Rescued People After Mexico’s Earthquake in 2017

By Lisa Cohn

We’ve been writing a lot about dogs that have superpowers. And dogs that are heroes–rescue dogs, for example.

An amazing hero dog was the rescue dog, Frida, who recently died at the age of 13.

She was a search-and-rescue Labrador Retriever famous for locating victims after an earthquake that devastated Mexico City in 2017. She died of natural causes, the Ministry of the Navy (Semar) reported on Twitter.

“Dear Frida, although we are hurt by your departure, the Naval Family promises today to honor your memory, acting under the legacy that you taught us: ‘kindness, loyalty and love.’ Thank you for serving Mexico, you will always live in our hearts,” the Ministry of the Navy said in a statement.

Wearing boots and goggles, Frida took part in search and rescue efforts after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Mexico City. Using her rescue training — completed in record time — she  located and brought 12 people to safety, according to the U.S. Navy. During her career, she also located about 50 bodies and took part in search and rescues in Haiti and Ecuador, in addition to Mexico.

The Mexican Navy big farewell to Frida on Twitter, thanking her for serving Mexico.

Stories like Frida’s remind me of why we’re writing kids’ dog books. We want to share with the world our love of dogs and all that they do for people.

When Michael was five and six, he told stories about hero dogs on Youtube.

Here’s one about Bear, who saved his owner:

 

And here’s a hero dog story about a tail wagger who saved two girls in The Philippines.

Our upcoming book features Lucy, a dog with special powers who helps solve a mystery.

We have a new title for our next book, and will share it when we’re getting closer to releasing it!

In the meantime, be sure to watch our book trailer, featuring 5-year-old Michael romping with puppy Hudson, who is a character in our books and a voice-over artist  in our audiobooks:

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for our upcoming Bash and Lucy book, our fourth book!

 

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The New Pup in our Children’s Dog Book Series: Sassy

Sassy, the latest dog character in our book series

Throughout our children’s dog book series, we have added new tail waggers.

Our first Bash and Lucy book, Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence, introduced Lucy, who helped the kids on a soccer team feel confident by kissing them and making them laugh.

Lucy

Our second book, Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy, added an autism service dog for one of the members of the soccer team.

Our third book, Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts, added golden retriever Hudson, who was adopted by Coach Danny. Danny’s whole personality changes when Hudson comes into his life. He’s happier, sillier and absolutely dedicated to Hudson–even though the adorable tail wagger fails to be helpful to the team. Also introduced in book four is Panda, adopted by Bash’s cousin, Paula, to help out the girls’ team.

Hudson

Coming soon in our fourth book, Bash and Lucy say, “Love Like a Dog”  is Sassy, a black lab (pictured above) adopted by Mr. Anderson after he is sent to a special kind of detention and realizes how much he needs a canine companion. In fact, Mr. Anderson and Coach Danny bond in this book as dog lovers.

If you’re a dog lover, don’t miss our new book, which will be released soon.

In the meantime, be sure to check out our dog book trailer, which features 5-year-old Michael romping with Hudson, who is only a few months old.

 

 

You might also want to check out our Bash and Lucy audiobooks, recorded with my voice, Michael’s voice and the voices of friends and family members:

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The Most Popular Dog in the Park!

Hudson, always the popular dog in the park

Our golden retriever, Hudson, is always the most popular dog in the park, as you can see from these photos.

When we go to the park, kids surround him, ask if they can pet him and beg to throw his ball for him. They want to know his name, age, breed and what he likes to eat.

I love their curiosity about dogs!

Hudson adores fetching balls, and anyone who tosses his ball into the air becomes an immediate favorite person–a person he’ll remember next time he visits the park.

In our next book, to be released in the next few months, Lucy, also a golden retriever, is very popular. When Bash goes to the library to visit his sister (the librarian) or to take out books or participate in a Roving Reader Leaders club meeting, Lucy waits outside. She’s always surrounded by children when Bash comes back outside, and they complain when Lucy has to go home with Bash.

Golden retrievers are known for their friendly personalities and for being eager to please and easily entertained. Goldens also like to stay close to their best friends. Hudson follows me around the house all day long. He gives me big, sad eyes when I leave the house without him. I take him in the car with me whenever I think it’s safe–when I’m making a short stop, for example, and have to leave him for a minute in the car.

In our last book, Coach Danny adopted Hudson and it transformed Danny’s personality into a canine-loving, ball-throwing dog dad. In our upcoming book, another character adopts a dog–and it changes the way he runs his business!

Hudson also is a bark-over artist for our Bash and Lucy audiobooks. You can hear him bark in our last audiobook, Bash and Lucy Fetch Team Vera and the Dream Beasts.

Puppy Hudson starred, along with 5-year-old Michael, in our book trailer nine years ago. All these years later, it always makes me smile:

Stay tuned for the release of our new book, Bash and Lucy say, ‘Love Like a Dog!’ We’re excited about sharing it with you!

 

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The Reader Leaders in Our Upcoming Kids’ Book!

Chief of the Roving Reader Leaders

Who are the Roving Reader Leaders who appear in our upcoming kids’ book?

They’re a group of reading lovers who meet weekly at the library to discuss books, which is just what we do in real life.

Roving Reader Leaders at the library

In our next book, the book lovers must work together, along with golden retriever Lucy, to solve the mystery of who is removing dog books from the library and stuffing video games in their place.

The Roving Reader Leaders work with the librarian, Ally, who is Bash’s sister and also the mayor of the town, Woof-Woof Nation. She’s also Michael’s sister in real life and they often have books tucked under their arms, as they do in the photo below. Of course, Grandma Vera –the assistant mayor–also helps solve the mystery.

Michael and sister Ally, with their books

In real life and in our Bash and Lucy books, the Roving Reader Leaders wear badges that were designed by Michael.

You can see the badges and learn more about our book club by reading this article in the  Beaverton Valley Times:

For this Club, It’s All About Loving Books

We started the book club after Michael appeared on the Today Show at the age of 5. The piece featured his love of reading and YouTube book reviews.  You can watch this fun video to get a feel for Michael and friends’ reviews, which take place in libraries, bookstores, on playgrounds and in gyms!

We’re very excited about releasing our next kids’ book soon. Right now, the manuscript is in the hands of our gifted illustrator, Heather Nichols. After we receive the illustrations, we’ll do some final editing, design the cover and interior, then pull it all together and release it on Amazon and other platforms. Stay tuned to this blog for book give-aways! And if you’re interested in reviewing the book, email us at BashAndLucy@gmail.com.

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4th Kids’ Dog Book, 1st Illustration!

We finished writing our fourth kids’ dog book, and our illustrator, Heather Nichols, just sent us the first illustration (above).

It’s so exciting when Heather starts sending us illustrations.  They make our stories come  alive.

This is the fourth time the talented Heather has illustrated our dog books. We met her at the Portland Saturday Market, where she was doing caricatures. We love the way she captures the essence of our characters in such a playful manner.

In this illustration, Heather depicts sensitive Bash and his strong connection to his dog, Lucy. In our fourth book, Bash’s sensitivities give him special strengths, which is why Heather titled this illustration “Sensitive Strength.” When Lucy is by Bash’s side, he feels safe enough to make the most of his strengths–his super-tuned ears and nose, his ability to read people’s feelings and his smarts. But sometimes those sensitivities wreak havoc for Bash. You’ll learn more about that in our book!

Heather has a knack for illustrating Bash’s feelings. Maybe that’s because she has been an illustrator most of her life. She discovered her love for drawing at age 7 in Mrs. Otterholt’s class. She drew Joshua Giraffe, a character from her favorite Raffi song and felt a joy she hadn’t known before. By the time she was 10 she knew that she would be drawing cartoons for a living when she grew up.

Heather took every art class possible from elementary through high school and also took some community college courses. She learned most of what she knows from copying her favorite Warner Brother cartoons, watching Commander Mark and the Secret City (an amazing cartoon instruction series, she says) and observing the local graffiti artists in her neighborhood.

In March of 2000 she landed a job drawing caricatures for Kaman’s Art Shoppes at Sea World in San Diego. Drawing caricatures was an aspect of cartooning she had not explored very much and it was love at first sketch. She was very fortunate to be surrounded by phenomenal artists who helped guide her along, she told us. Before she knew it she was drawing at parties and huge corporate events.

Heather helped launch our first books by doing caricatures of the guests at our book release parties and asking them for a donation, She gave the donations to the Oregon Humane Society, a much-loved shelter in Portland that takes pets from all over the U.S. and finds homes for them.

Speaking of animal shelters, here’s an illustration from our last book. In this chapter, the local animal shelter is having a pet fair on the waterfront, and one of the characters in our book, Coach Danny, falls in love with golden retriever Hudson and adopts him.

Dogs at the pet fair

Stay tuned for more illustrations and information about our fourth  kids’ dog book. And be sure to watch the real Hudson, as a puppy, romping with 5-year-old Michael in our book trailer:

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