A dog-shaped garden surprise!

The wonderful Rose Lihou, debut children's book author-illustrator, has generously shared with us the inspiration behind her first published book, the first of a promised three: Tiny Dogs: Bea's Secret Friends. Book 2 Tiny Dogs: The Lost School Pet is out now and book 3 is promised for early 2025. Take note and then remember not to get too lost in the beautiful miniature world that Rose has created!

The idea for the Tiny Dogs series came from my love of wildlife gardening and my desire to create something incredibly cute for young readers.

I remember how much I loved playing in the garden when I was little and saw the way my own children would spend hours making bug hotels and setting up snail races, and I knew I wanted to create stories that explored the everyday magic of garden wildlife.

I also thought about the stories I loved as a child, especially The Secret Garden and The Animals of Farthing Wood, which explored themes of nature, mystery and animal camaraderie. Aesthetically, I was inspired by the incredible artwork of Studio Ghibli films.

The very first thing I created was an illustration showing a child in an overgrown garden searching among broken pots and weeds. Then I imagined four tiny dogs emerging from the pot and the child being overjoyed at their new friends. The story seemed to come to life from that point!

The main character, Bea, is quiet child and struggles with her shyness. Through caring for the Tiny Dogs and the garden around them, she learns to find her voice and speak up. This is especially important as she faces challenges like moving house, a plotting neighbour and a huge storm. But as the garden springs into life and grows into something beautiful, so does her confidence.

The Tiny Dogs books are also about the joy of making unexpected friends and the vital importance of access to green space. The cost-of-living crisis and our increasingly digital/indoor lifestyles, I believe, make this even more important. I would love to think that Tiny Dogs could encourage time spent outdoors.

My own tiny urban garden is now a habitat for local wildlife and has been an amazing source of inspiration. Here are some of the best things we’ve done in the garden to encourage wildlife:

1)    Create a wildlife pond. It’s small, shallow, low-maintenance and is now a home for frogs, pond snails and dragonflies.

2)    A log pile. We gathered up all the old logs and wood in the garden and created a pile instead of throwing it away. It’s now a home for stag beetles, and they fly around in the Summer evenings.

3)    Plant cabbages. Not for us to eat, but to attract butterflies. The cabbages are caterpillar favourites, which stops the other plants getting eaten.

4)    Plant pollinators, or let the dandelions grow. Bees need them, and we need bees.

Creating these books has been such a huge joy, and I really hope young readers will dive in and love meeting the tiny dogs!

Tiny Dogs: Bea’s Secret Friends by Rose Lihou will be published 18th April 2024

Tiny Dogs: The Lost School Pet will be published 4th July 2024 and a third book will be published in February 2025 all from Puffin.