A Puppy, Not a Guppy is an enchanting book written by Holly Jahangiri and illustrated by Ryan Shaw, two Houston residents who have never met. They didn't even have any contact until the work was finished. 4RV Publishing gladly added this book to its list of books that should be considered for gifts.
I'm very excited to be part of the A Puppy, Not a Guppy blog tour. In fact I get to kick off the proceedings. We have a special guest today, and everyone will be glad to learn more about --
"Hey, why can't I be part of this? After all the book is about me. ME! No body else is as 'portant."
Uh, why hello, Irma. I thought maybe you would visit us and maybe leave comments.
"What? What kind of deal is this? I'm not happy at all."
Every well, Irma, why don't we visit? Think you can answer a few questions?
"I can always answer questions, but I don't always know the right answers."
I'm sure you'll be able to answer these, Irma. Are you ready? This is a big surprise, having you here today. Guess I'll have to visit with my scheduled guest another time. Would that be all right, Holly?
"Bet it wasn't as big a surprise as those guppies were to me."
Q. Why do you think Holly wrote about you?
"Because I remind her of her daughter, Katie. And maybe I remind her, a little bit, of herself. Okay, maybe it was because I kept knocking on the inside of her forehead saying, "I want a PUPPY!!" I still didn't get a puppy. I just got a book. I like books, but I'd have rathered have a puppy."
Q. Are you glad your parents allowed you to have guppies, even if they wouldn't let you have a puppy?
"Yeah, they're okay I guess. They're not as dumb and boring as they look. And nothing should get flushed down the potty. There's alligators down there. Jimmy told me so."
Q. Do you think your author will write more adventures for you? Why would she want to?
"I dunno. She says maybe if I'm good. I don't think she really wants me to be all that good, though. I see what she likes to read. Have you ever read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle? She laughs at those stories, and those kids are kind of naughty."
Q. Are you good in school? Do you like going to school?
"I like to go to school. I'm pretty good at it, I guess. I really like Math and Science and stuff. I like to write poems, too, but I don't think they're very good. Writing's hard. I can't wait till next year, 'cause we get to study a foreign language, and I want to study. Jimmy speaks a little Klingon."
Klingon? I think you may be a bit disappointed about that.
Q. Which guppy is your favorite? Why?
"Well, Mom says I shouldn't play favorites. But I think maybe Lightning is my favorite. I don't know why, 'cause you know he was like my least favorite at first. But he's funny and he tries really, really hard. Stuff that Herman and Oscar can do really easy takes him a couple more days to figure out, but then he's got it. That's what I was like with fractions, at first."
Q. Did your author insist on the story going the way she wanted it, or did you have the ability to control the plot?
"Plot? I just kind of told her what happened, and next thing I knew she was writing it all down in a book. Nobody ever wrote a book about me and Jimmy before. Miss Holly just took out the 'ums' and 'uhs' and some of the details that didn't have to do with puppies and guppies - like when I told her that Mom made us pancakes with real maple syrup and how I like them when they're kind of burned on the edges. She told it pretty much the way I showed it to her. Do you think she's going to write another story about us? That'd be kind of fun."
One of my great-grandsons learned about plot in fourth grade, so I thought surely you had, too. But you explai
ned how you provided the "plot," which means what happened.Thank you so much for stopping by, Irma. I've enjoyed our visit so much.
So, if you'll pick up a few cookies from the kitchen cabinet on the way out, I'll let readers know where to buy copies of your book.
"Cookies, what kind of cookies? I like chocolate chip with nuts in them."
Then you'll be very happy. Tell the guppies hello for me.
WHERE TO BUY:
Directly from 4RV Publishing at http://4rvpublishingllc.com/Childrens_Books.html ($8.99 less 15% discount until December 20 + S&H )
Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Puppy-Not-Guppy-Holly-Jahangiri/dp/0984070850 ($10.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.)
Blogs:
Books by Holly Jahangiri at http://jahangiri.us/books features excerpts, book trailers, character interviews, and more.
Author’s blog at http://jahangiri.us/news
Contest information can be found here.
