People often ask, "Where do you get the ideas for your books?" My response is that they come from many different sources.
In the case of Barney and the Runaway, the inspiration came from the first dog that my wife and I owned. Her name was Poo Pa. We lived in Germany, for the first year of our marriage, and a young girl we met there used that name to identify her little doll. We may have spelled it differently, but it provided a great description of our little dog.
In Barney and the Runaway, Barney is equally smart if not more so. Poo Pa may have been a pure Poodle, but Barney is a small, scruffy, Benji-looking, little mutt.
Come back often for more details to follow on this blog.
Synopsis_________________________________
Barney and the Runaway
Author: Max Elliot Anderson
Audience: 8 – 12; especially boys
Barney and the Runaway tells the story of Michael Ellis, who has recently told his parents to start calling him Mike from now on. He especially hated the way they were always telling him what to do. Mike decides to teach his parents a lesson by pretending to run away for a day with his dog Barney.
The plan of running away gets a bit more complicated than planned when Mike and Barney hide in a railroad boxcar, fall asleep, and end up in Georgia, with a circus, in the middle of the night. Luckily for the runaways, Big Bob the Clown takes Mike and Barney to safety in his wagon. Mike decides that living and performing with the circus might be a good idea until Big Bob opens Mike’s eyes to his unfortunate past.
Mike’s encounter with this grown up runaway, in the circus, helps him to understand that his parents truly love him. Then Mike and Barney save the circus. Through it all, Mike learns the importance of family.
Parents often punish their children, but only because they love and want what is best for them, not because they don’t care. Even though the life of a circus performer with a circus family may appear fun, if given a choice, most would agree that living in a warm home with loving, caring parents is the preferred choice. As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” After Mike overhears some unsettling news and both he and Barney are involved in a scary and dangerous crime, Mike learns his lesson before it’s too late.
Posts
4 comments:
Congratulations on your new book.
Hi Max! Thanks for visiting my blog and letting me know about your books. I totally applaud your vision of reaching reluctant readers with adventurous tales. If you'd ever like a reviewer, my son and I might be the team you're looking for. :-)
I LOVE the look of this book - I like writing dogs, they are such expressive characters, even without talking. :-)
The dog picture reminded me of a dog we had when we lived in Indiana. His name was whiskers. I'd had a terrible experience where I was attacked by a german shepherd and developed a fear of dogs, including this little thing when he was delivered to us. He helped me overcome my fear of dogs and when my mom who had a back injury, had an accident where she fell in the tub and could not get out,home as if guarding her. He was the best dog. I look forward to reading this book
Post a Comment