We are delighted to share a blog from Rose Lihou about her new book series, Tiny Dogs. Read on to discover where this all began.
Finding Tiny Dogs
The idea for the Tiny Dogs series started from a picture I drew during lockdown.
I made a sketch of a child low down in the grass discovering some tiny hidden creatures and I asked myself some questions: what would be the best thing to find inside a flowerpot? Baby hedgehogs? A bird’s nest with eggs? A ten-pound note? What if you found . . . tiny dogs?! What if they could talk and they needed you to look after them? How would it make you feel?
I was instantly hooked on this idea of how exciting it would be for a child to find a pack of tiny dogs and be tasked with feeding them and making them a home. The stories grew from there and I began writing and drawing out characters and plots.
These are my debut books so I had a lot to learn about how to make them come to life, but I tried to keep coming back to the feeling of wonder a child would have if they found their own tiny dogs and keep that going as much as possible through the series.
I can’t tell you how happy I am when parents message me to tell me that their kid is in the garden looking for tiny dogs, making homes to entice them . . .
One of the things I enjoyed most about writing the series was creating Bea, the main character. When we meet Bea she is getting used to big changes in her life, like moving house and a brand new school. Bea is quiet and thoughtful and finds it really hard to express herself in public – her words get muddled and just don’t come out as she is hoping. She finds it much easier to talk to animals than people. Through caring for the four tiny dogs and learning from their four different personalities, Bea gradually grows in confidence and by the end of book 1 (Bea’s Secret Friends), we see her tackle problems head on with confidence and kindness. She finds her voice. I really loved creating an introverted hero and I hope that children who might also find it hard to express themselves can take something useful from the books.
Illustrating Tiny Dogs is so much fun, and with the help of a brilliant designer, my goal is to create interest on every spread to keep those early readers engaged and turning the pages. I start with really quick pencil sketches to figure out how the scenes will look, and when I’m happy, I’ll use my iPad to take a photo.
I’ll use this photo of the pencil sketch as a reference and build the digital illustration in layers on top of it. It’s been so amazing to work in full colour throughout – it really makes the dogs seem alive and ready to jump out from the pages.
The best thing about making Tiny Dogs is hearing how much young readers are enjoying it. There’s something so special about creating stories for children who are just starting their independent reading journey. These early books can spark a lifelong love of reading (or not!) and so it’s incredibly rewarding and a huge privilege to create books in this space.
To everyone who encourages kids to read, thank you! Whether you’re a parent, guardian, teacher, librarian, or part of a book club, you’re helping kids discover the magic of stories. I hope Tiny Dogs can bring some big adventures to their bookshelves!
Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Federation.
