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.

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!