Getting to Know Baltic

I first heard about Baltic on "All Things Considered" on NPR.  It was a brief story, recapping his amazing rescue earlier in the week, and concluding with the news that Baltic had been adopted by the crew: he was now an official crew member of the R/V Baltica!

Once I decided to work on a book about Baltic's adventure, I started looking for more information about him.  There were lots of news reports from all over the world, as well as photographs and videos.  Especially helpful were a number of interviews with the Baltica's crew done for Polish television that I had translated into English.  Mr. Paweł Rola, from the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW), graciously gave me access to some incredible photographs of Baltic taken right before his rescue:

Unbelievable, right? This last picture is in the author's note in the book, courtesy of the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW).

One of my favorite videos about Baltic requires no translation: the images alone capture all the emotion and drama of that day.

Countdown to Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic

This is exciting!  My first picture book, Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic, is going to be released in early January.  In July of last year, I wrote a blog post telling all about the book deal and how it came about.

And now the reviews are coming in and I couldn't be happier.  Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly already had some wonderful things to say about the book, and this week I learned that The Horn Book gave Little Dog Lost a Starred Review.  Wow!!

Throughout December I'll add a few more posts detailing the process of creating my first picture book.  I hope you'll stop by!