Maria Bea Alfano is the author of the new children's novel Barker's Doghouse: Fetch!, the first in a new series. Also an artist, she lives in New York City.
Q: What inspired you to write Barker’s Doghouse: Fetch!, and how did you create your character Gio?
A: My brilliant editor Kate Egan approached me with the premise—a new boy in town accidentally eats a dog biscuit and can suddenly talk to the dogs in the daycare his mom runs—and I ran with it!
But my true inspiration for the characters and doggie details in Barker’s Doghouse is my pandemic pup—a 4 ½ year old Schnoodle named Izzy who knows exactly who she is and what she wants. So many ideas come from watching her interact with her friends at the dog park—both canine and human!
Here’s a little behind-the-scenes secret: I also get really inspired when I get to talk through my ideas with someone who loves stories and character development as much as I do—so talking about Gio and the dogs at Barker’s with my editor is always really inspiring as well.
How did I create my character, Gio? The simple answer is that he’s a little bit me, a little bit my friends’ kids, and a little bit imagined.
Writing from Gio’s POV felt daunting at first, but then I remembered that I have been the new person in a situation so so many times. I’m always trying new activities and I’ve moved a few times. I am from New York but I went to college outside Philadelphia, lived in Chicago for a year, and in Spain for almost two years.
And I remember all the feels! Missing my friends. Missing the parts of me that only come out when I’m with the friends who’ve known me forever. Missing out on everything that was happening at home while I was away—even though I was the one having an adventure! It can all feel SO awkward! And then there’s all the anxiety around wondering if I’d ever make friends or learn to like living in the new town or city.
From there, it was much easier to imagine what Gio was going through.
(I also know what it’s like to be the newbie on the soccer field! I was once the only woman who showed up to a soccer practice full of strangers—but I built some of my longest-lasting friendships that way!)
Q: What do you think Laura Catalán’s illustrations add to the story?
A: Illustrations make every story better! As a kid, I always loved reading and I still counted how many pages of text I had to get through before the next picture.
Laura’s illustrations are particularly cool because they really capture the quirkiness and vibrancy of each character in Barker’s Doghouse—human and canine. It’s so much fun to see how someone else interprets the characters that live in my head. Plus, I love Gio’s wavy hair!
Q: The Booklist review of the book called it a “fetching series kickoff with a waggish premise.” What do you think of that description?
A: I love a good puppy pun as well as a positive review! (Negative reviews don’t count unless they teach you something or help you improve your work ). The whole Booklist review made my heart sing (and my pup’s tail wag). The reviewer clearly has a strong sense of play and really connected with both the fun and the heart of the story.
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the book?
A: I always hope that the characters’ emotional journey resonates with readers. And that by taking that journey together, the reader can learn to deal with their own big feelings a little bit better.
In Fetch!, Gio’s lonely. He’s mad, and he wants to have a say in what happens to him. He’s tuned into the unfairness of it all. And he just wants to be his whole self and liked for who he truly is. I think those are feelings we can all relate to.
I also hope that readers enjoy the experience of reading Fetch! I hope they laugh out loud and maybe—just maybe—think about getting a dog of their own (Sorry, parents!).
Q: This is the start of a series--can you tell us what's next?
A: It is! And I can! There will be four Barker’s Doghouse books total. You can look forward to watching Gio evolve over the course of the series and deepen his friendships with both his human and dog friends. Expect the series to tackle a lots of friendship themes and to answer the question: What would YOU do if you could talk to dogs?
In book two, Barker’s Doghouse gets a puppy—which causes a lot of chaos! Gio trains Bean and deals with all the feelings surrounding having to celebrate his birthday in his new town for the first time—without the friends he’s had since kindergarten and all the traditions they’ve built together over the years.
Of course, his new doggie friends at Barker’s Doghouse will try to give Gio the ulti-mutt birthday, but will the new puppy drama ruin their pawsome plans?
Book three centers around the first-ever Milton Doggie Olympics sponsored by Barker’s Doghouse. It’s POSSIBLE that Gio hits a snag with his powers (his ability to talk to dogs) just when he feels like he needs them the most.
Book four is still up in the air but I am thinking of sending Gio and the dogs on a field trip. My editor would really like to see a school bus on the cover and so would I!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: A) I love talking about books with kids and think it would be puptacular to be invited into classrooms, schools, and libraries to talk about the series (hint-hint!)
B) I try really hard to show off positive dog training techniques in the books and I hope I’ve made my own dogs’ trainers proud (I dedicate book three to them!)
Izzy is my first puppy-love ever and I had NO idea what I was doing when I got her. So, we took a lot of classes together and did a lot of training at home—both in basic obedience as well as fun things like agility, tricks, and scent work. (Izzy can find a treat rolled up in a towel, stuffed into a box, and hidden under the couch in no time using just her nose!)
All those early missteps and fun times work their way into the series.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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