We appreciated this note from a reader about our fourth kids’ dog book, Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!”
“There is a kind of children’s book that does something quietly remarkable. It wraps a real message inside so much warmth and humor and personality that kids absorb it completely without feeling like they are being taught anything. Bash and Lucy is absolutely that kind of book. Dog-tention alone is one of the most creative concepts I have come across in middle grade fiction in a long time, and the fact that it actually works within the story, transforming bullies and naysayers through the simple power of loving dogs, is both funny and genuinely moving.
What drew me in specifically is the ensemble at the heart of it. Bash with his golden retriever and his need for calm in a noisy world. Ally the spunky mayor-dancer-librarian, which is a combination that should not work and yet clearly does. And Grandma Vera, a feisty Ukrainian immigrant and assistant mayor who has decided that canine appreciation holidays are exactly what this town needs. That group of characters has so much texture and so much heart, and the mystery thread gives the whole thing a propulsive energy that keeps young readers turning pages.
The audiobook format with its multi-generational cast of narrators sounds like an experience all on its own, the kind of thing families listen to together on road trips and then quote for weeks afterward.”
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Want to read the book? You can find it on Amazon or other online booksellers. We’re also offering autographed copies paired with the audiobook, read by teens, tweens and a Ukrainian grandmother. Email us at Bashandlucy@gmail.com to order it or find the autographed book/audiobook package on Etsy.
You can also listen to previews of our first kids’ audiobook, read by children as young as age 5, here.
In the kids’ dog book Bash and Lucy Say, “Love, Love, Bark!” someone has been stealing Bash’s favorite dog books from the library, books that help calm him when the world is too loud, too bright, or too busy.
Bash enlists the aid of Grandma Vera, a feisty, do-good immigrant from Ukraine and the town’s assistant mayor, to help identify the thief. He also recruits his sister, Ally, a spunky mayor-dancer-librarian. Of course, the investigation also requires the super senses of Bash’s golden retriever, Lucy.
Ally and Grandma Vera, with Lucy by their side, tackle the mystery of the missing books while they pursue their mission of helping people get along better. Their message: Let’s embrace the goodness of dogs. To spread their message, Vera and Ally establish daily canine-adoring holidays. They also invent “Dog-tention,” which transforms troublemakers, naysayers, and bullies into dog lovers.
Can Bash, Vera, Ally, and Lucy find the book thief, end the arguing and bullying, and help people work together?
The kids’ dog book authors hope to inspire readers to embrace Grandma Vera’s messages about kindness, empathy, and love.
Written by Lisa Cohn (Mom) and Lea Cohn (now age 17), award-winning authors who have appeared on the Today Show, AM Northwest, in Disney’s Babble, the Oregonian and other media outlets.
