Mother-Daughter Duo Write Fun Dog Book For Kids
Best Pets for Kids Interview:
Danny Blitz and Sheridan Blitz, Much to Do Before a Dog
Meet Danny and Sheridan Blitz, the mother-daughter team that wrote and illustrated Much to Do Before a Dog!
In 2016, Sheridan Blitz was a high school senior when her mother, Danny Blitz, asked this question.
“What special thing can we do together in your last year before you go to college? Let’s do a project that will be fun, and we’ll always remember!”
Danny loves to write. Sheridan loves to draw and paint with ink and watercolours. So, they thought, why not create a book together?
Now they have, telling the story in words and pictures of how Sheridan desperately wanted a pet dog when she was younger. But, like all parents, her mother felt she needed to learn how to be a responsible pet parent before they could give a good life to their new BFF, Best Furry Friend.
Their book tells readers what to do to get ready to have a pet.
The charming story of how young Sheridan worked hard to get the pet of her dreams is told in Much to Do Before a Dog. It’s now available on Amazon. You can find it here.
Since Tristan and I wrote the I Want a Pet books, many people have asked us what it’s like to work together on a book. So, we decided to ask Sheridan, who is now 18 and studying science at university in Ohio, what it was like to write a book with her mum and become a published teen author and illustrator.
BPFK: Hi Sheridan. Tell us, when and how did you first get the idea for your book?
Sheridan Blitz: My mom was the driving force behind writing a children’s book together.
We toyed with a few ideas and morals we felt passionate about sharing but none of them quite fit our children’s book agenda as seamlessly as the true story presented in Much to Do Before a Dog.
To help us generate ideas, we visited children’s museums and a couple of schools I attended when I was younger. We would observe what interested kids who are the age group we aimed to target. Then we combined what we saw with ideas for our book.
BPFK: What was it like to have your mum as your co-author?
Sheridan: It was a fun experience. She wrote most of the words and I would give her edits.
The peer editing system was something I had only really done at school, so it was exciting to practice this skill outside of the classroom.
Sheridan Blitz works on the watercolour illustrations for the book she created with her mother, Danny Blitz.
BPFK: What is your favourite question kids ask you about this book, or your life and work as an artist, and what is your answer?
Sheridan: My favorite question from the kids we first read our book to is, “What happens next?”
It makes me feel like we did our job as writers by leaving our audience always wanting more. It tells me that our target audience was engaged and enjoyed our work enough to be asking for a sequel even before our first book was launched.
Most of all, it’s these types of questions that make the whole experience so much more worthwhile. I feel like we’ve contributed something meaningful to society that is engaging for children.
They’re at some of the most pivotal points of learning in their lives.
BPFK: When you were younger, did you have a dream of being an illustrator or co-author of a book?
Sheridan: I’ve always loved art and had lessons ever since I was in kindergarten. Then I was in fine arts at my high school, a Waldorf High School. I was very lucky to have art lessons from professional artists when I was young. But I wouldn’t say that I ever really had a dream of being an illustrator or a co-author of a book.
Art has always been and will always be a part of my life.
I think this book is a good example of how anyone can turn a part of their life into an important message to share with people. Anyone can turn a skill into a unique offering, they just have to do it.
BPFK: That’s good advice, thanks. What other suggestions do you have for a child who is 8 to 12 years old and thinks they’d like to do what you’ve done, co-write and illustrate a book?
Sheridan: I’d say go for it!
Find an art medium (or mediums) that really gets you excited and that you’ll be able to repeat without getting bored with the process.
For me, it’s watercolor. For someone else it might be colour pencil, photography or digital art. Or another type of art.
When it comes to writing the book, choose a topic that you’re super passionate about because that passion is always what puts one level of production above the next.
All that’s left to do now is practice! Practice your artistic and writing skills and be open to criticism.
Find an art and writing style that is unique to you and let that style transform and grow with you as a person.
BPFK: Sounds like a plan for success! Are you working on another book now? If so, can you hint at what we have to look forward to reading from you and, possibly, your co-author?
Sheridan: Currently, I’m not working on another book. But I do already have an article published in my college’s newspaper at Oberlin College.
My mom and I have talked about writing a sequel for Much to Do Before a Dog, so we’ll see how that pans out in the future.
I know that my mom is currently working on her own book as well as a documentary about parenting which I would highly recommend reading and watching because she’s a 10/10 parent.
Also, I plan to eventually write a couple of books of my own, but that’s not really the plan for the immediate future.
BPFK: Who’s your favourite writer or artist of children’s books, and why? Maybe someone whose work inspires you?
Sheridan: Some of the books that inspired my mom and I with our children’s book both artistically and in terms of how to present our book’s content include these:
- Mo Willems’ Knuffle Bunny series,
- The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn which was illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leaks, and
- The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds.
These are some of our favorite children’s books because we can really appreciate the unique styles of the illustrations as well as the important morals behind the engaging stories.
The Kissing Hand especially holds some sentimental value for my mom and me. We didn’t quite know about the Knuffle Bunny and The Dot while I was growing up, but if we had, you can bet we would have included them in our collection sooner!
BPFK: What was the hardest thing about doing the book? What was the easiest? And what was the most surprising?
Sheridan: I think my answer to the first two questions would have to be working with my mom.
What’s the most surprising to me is that’s what I consider to be the easiest and hardest components that came with creating this book. Working with my mom meant that she already knew me well and trusted my opinions, especially when it came to decisions concerning aesthetics.
It was also fun to work with my mom because we got to be goofy together, and it was super rewarding to create something like this together.
On the flip side of this, the hard part about working with my mom was that she’s my mom. Sometimes I would feel a little too casual and relaxed around her when it came to deadlines. I would still always get the work done on time, of course, but not always in the most efficient way that I might have if she was my co-worker.
BPFK: Your senior year in high school is usually a busy year! How did you also have the time to create your book together and publish it? What is your working method?
Sheridan: Between finals, my senior project, graduation planning, and college preparation, my work method was just to illustrate whenever I made time and to listen to some great music while doing so.
BPFK: Sheridan, thanks so much for this conversation and for inspiring young artists and writers!
You can see Sheridan and Danny Blitz’s website and where to get their books here.