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Teachable Tales
Doc, Willie, and the Pack: Secrets, Gifts, Family (A Hickory Doc’s Tale) follows a crow that has a secret he’s keeping from his dog pack family and is worried about what will happen when they find out. What was the inspiration for your story?
A friend told his true story to my husband and myself of a crow that befriend his family.
What was your inspiration for the characters and their relationship?
Many days were spent on our twenty acres in Oklahoma watching Patch and our other hunting dogs find birds including crows. The trainer said Patch had “a lot of energy” and would “never stop hunting”. She was a very determined hunting dog.
What are some of your inspirations as a writer?
To present teachable tales to elementary school children on the lives of hunting dogs, other animals in nature, their habitats, and life lessons involving—family, friendships, bravery, diversity, and problem solving.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Desert Friends: Travels with the Pack (Archway Publishing)
It will be available in the Spring of 2022.
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website
Doc and the pack discover that Willie, the crow with bad eyesight, has a big secret. Can Willie convince the pack he is part of their family? Will the pack discover what Willie’s big secret is? How does Zeke accept Willie’s gift? The adventure continues at the Lazy Dog Hacienda with Doc, Willie, and the pack.
Secrets, Gifts, Family
Willie the crow wants to eat the pack’s dog chow. The problem is he promised to not eat it from the kennel, and the other bowls are in the house with the Food Giver. To get to the bowels he must enter through the dog door, and this turns out to be harder than expected. Willie nearly drowns and gets stuck in a plant. After being rescued by Patch twice he makes it inside. There he taps on the refrigerator door and the Food Givers arrives and give him a small packet of walnuts and he flies out the window before the pack gets in and sees him. Willie keeps his special treats a secret from the pack
Doc, Willie, and the Pack: Secrets, Gifts, Family written by Linda Harkey returns readers to the Lazy Dog Hacienda. Willie the crow is part of the family that lives here. Willie however has a secret, he gets special treats from the Food Giver and is afraid to tell the pack about them. Instead, he brings the empty wrappers to Zeke as gifts making up stories about where he found them. Eventually, the truth comes out thanks to a newspaper article that was done on Willie that the pack saw.
This entertaining picture book talks about family, keeping secrets, and friendships. Young elementary-age children will love the colorful illustrations of Mike Minick and the expression all the dogs have. This light-hearted story has a great message about friendship and family that they will be able to relate to. The adventures of Willie trying to get into the house will have children and adults laughing and asking, can crows get glasses, because clearly, poor Willie needs them.
Doc, Willie, and the Pack: Secrets, Gifts, Family: (A Hickory Doc’s Tale) is an engaging read for classrooms, libraries, and parents to read to children. It will make a great early reader for children learning to read with the vibrant artwork to help tell the story.
Pages: 52 | ASIN: B07XLHR2SZ
LITERARY TITAN 