Write from the Heart
Ann M. Martin's books have been charming readers around the world for more than 20 years. The Baby-sitter's Club books Newbery Honor Book A Corner of the Universe, and her new Main Street series are just a few of her many books. One of our favorites is A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray. In fact, we liked it so much, we chose it as our 2007 KIND Children's Book Award winner! Narrated by a stray dog named Squirrel, the book shows the world through the eyes of a dog with no home.

KIND News: Congratulations on winning the KIND Children's Book Award! Where did you get the idea for A Dog's Life?

Ann M. Martin: A number of things came together to inspire the story. Part of it was my own dog, Sadie. I adopted Sadie when she was about 6 weeks old. She had been born to a stray dog who somebody found and brought to the animal rescue group I work with. Sadie was so shy and nervous as a puppy that I began to wonder what would have happened to her if her mother hadn’t been rescued.

I also wanted to get readers thinking about animals’ feelings. It’s one thing to say, “Would you want somebody to do that to you?” It’s another thing to come to know and love an animal and then see that animal treated cruelly.

KN: Was writing from a dog’s point of view more difficult than writing from a person’s perspective?

AMM: I did run into some unexpected challenges. For instance, I had to figure out a way to explain how the dog understood enough of the English language to tell her story. That was probably the biggest hurdle. Then, after I had written about two-thirds of the book, it occurred to me that dogs don’t see in full color like humans do. So I had to find out exactly what colors dogs do see and go back and take out any references to colors that Squirrel wouldn’t be able to see. But once I found a voice for Squirrel, the story flowed pretty easily.       

KN: We thought the book did a good job of showing how tough life can be for both stray animals and neglected pets.

AMM: I’ve done enough work with a local animal rescue organization to see all sorts of animal abuse and neglect. I drew on these experiences for Squirrel’s story.

KN: Tell us more about your animal rescue work.

AMM: I’ve worked very closely with a local organization. They deal mostly with finding permanent and foster homes for stray, abandoned, abused, and neglected cats. I started fostering cats in my home about eight years ago. I don’t know how many hundreds of cats have come through since then. Some have only stayed a night, others have been here for months and months. They’ve all gone on to permanent homes eventually.

KN: It must be a full house with your own pets and your foster cats.

AMM: Yes, I have three of my own cats, Gussie, Woody, and Willy, and my dog Sadie, and I usually have at least one foster cat. Sadie and Woody both came to me through the rescue group I work with. I adopted Willy after a friend brought him to me. He and another cat had actually been thrown out the window of a moving car. Neither of them was injured, thank goodness. This part of Willy’s life story actually made its way into A Dog’s Life.

Want to know how Willy’s story is worked into A Dog’s Life? Read it to find out! Look for the book in your local library. For more of our favorite reads, click here.