I am delighted to kick off the blog tour celebrating the publication of Michael the Amazing Mind-Reading Sausage Dog by Terrie Chilvers illustrated by Tim Budgen. Illustrated fiction for young readers of about 7 plus is important because it is at this stage that children begin that transition to independent reading for pleasure. Michael the Amazing Mind-Reading Sausage Dog has all the ingredients to encourage children that reading is for them! Humour, appealing characters (mostly of the canine variety), amusing illustrations and a subtle nod to the importance of trying hard and not giving up are all meshed together in this happy story.

Michael the Sausage Dog is desperate to be a star and is convinced that his talent of mind-reading might be his ticket to Hollywoof, as soon as he can convince the talent show judges that he and his assistant Stanley Big Dog have what it takes. However when they reach Hollywoof, it’s not as simple a life as Michael had dreamed. A rival show has started stealing their ticket sales and it’s up to him and his new friends to create a brilliant show, win back fans, and save the theatre.

How did this unlikely but enjoyable story come about? I am delighted to welcome author Terrie Chilvers to the blog today to tell us about the inspiration for Michael’s adventures.

The Inspiration for Michael the Amazing Mind-Reading Sausage Dog by Terrie Chilvers

Michael the Amazing Mind-Reading Sausage Dog is my debut book for kids 7+ or thereabouts! I’m a huge dog fan and always wanted to write a book that featured dogs – small ones, big ones, hairy ones and everything in between. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Crufts and reading dog magazines. And I’ve always had a particular soft spot for sausage dogs. They’re small in stature, but huge in character!

I live in a flat with no garden that makes it hard to have my own dog, but I often look after two sausage dogs in the local area via a site called BorrowMyDoggy.com that matches dog owners with people who want to have a dog in their life via regular dog walking or weekend visits. I look after a chocolate dapple miniature sausage dog called Bucky, and a long-haired red miniature called Sedwig. They have completely different personalities, but both of them think they’re the boss no matter what they’re doing!

The idea for a mind-reading sausage dog came one day during a writing exercise when I was thinking about what a sausage dog’s ambition might be. I felt like it would definitely be something big and flamboyant… and so the story of a mind-reading sausage dog’s quest for fame and fortune was born!

Having such a small dog at the heart of the story, I wanted to show kids that you can achieve big things even when you’re small and sometimes it might feel hard. Michael has a rollercoaster ride of successes and failures but with his self-belief and the help of his best friend, Stanley Big Dog he’s able to stay strong and follow his dream. 

Michael’s ambitions and doggedness to achieve his dream definitely resonates with me and my own journey of becoming an author. As with a lot of things in life, you have to deal with a lot of knockbacks, but you just have to keep going and pick yourself back up. I think a lot of us can afford to be a bit more Michael when it comes to believing in ourselves!

Thank you Terrie and I do think that children will be encouraged to be positive and to keep trying by Michael’s escapades. Perhaps we should all be a bit more Michael!

Thank you to Firefly Press for providing my review copy and to Graeme Williams for his help in preparing this blogpost. Please do follow the rest of the tour this week to find out more about Michael the Amazing Mind-Reading Sausage Dog.