Helping Young Animal Lovers Make a Difference: A Guest Post from Puppy Party Author Danica Davidson

I have a background in writing about animal welfare for journalism, covering topics like adoption, hoarding, feral cats and animal rescue. This comes from my own love of animals. I got my dog from the local shelter, and my cats either were abandoned by their original owner or were rescued from a hoarder. When I was tapped to write a Barbie comic book, and I was requested to come up with an idea involving puppies, it didn’t take long for me know I’d like write a fun story that also brings a pro-social angle to it. Sometimes writing about animal welfare can be disheartening, but I wanted to write something inspiring and empowering that would show kids they can also get involved in causes they care about, like animals. In my books for Minecrafters, I do something similar by mixing exciting Minecraft game play with real world stuff, like cyberbullying and making friends.
In the comic, Barbie and her sisters Skipper, Stacie, and Chelsea are taking their four puppies (DJ, Rookie, Taffy, and Honey) for a walk when they find a lost dog. While looking for the dog’s owner, Barbie’s vet friend mentions there are lots of dogs and cats at the local shelter who are also looking for homes. That gets the sisters talking, and they decide to throw a puppy party for all the local shelter pets. It will help them get adopted and help them find the lost dog’s owner. While they work on the puppy party, Barbie and her sisters also meet new friends and learn more about helping others and how teamwork can get things done. In the meantime, the puppies hang out with the lost dog to keep him company and learn more about his story.

I know lots of kids are passionate about animals, and they don’t always know what to do to help them. This comic talks about the importance of adoption, but it shows that even if you can’t adopt yourself (as not everyone can), you can get involved in helping animals find forever homes or helping out at the shelter. Or, as Barbie as her sisters do, you can come up with something really off-the-wall like a puppy party idea in order to get the job done!
I hope this book can be useful for animal welfare organizations to talk to kids about pets. At the same time, the most important thing is to tell a good story that people can relate to and enjoy. There’s lots of color and cuteness in these pages, and the sisters’ puppies are always very talkative and have distinct personalities (though the girls are unable to understand what they’re saying!).
In the end, I want this graphic novel to be sweet and adorable for anyone who likes puppies, Barbie, comics or any combination of the three. Would you like to join my puppy party?
Puppy Party is on B&N bookshelves now!