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Kizzie Jones publishes new book churches can use

Kizzie Jones has published another book in her series about Dachshunds, uplifting themes of kindness, compassion and honoring diversity.

Catherine Foote’s border collie, above, and Scott Ward’s Schnauzer, below, inspired Kizzie Jones’ book. Photo courtesy of Kizzie Jones

She said the books are adaptable to use for Sunday school and children’s sermons.

In early November, she launched the book about dachshunds, who dress up one day and want to stay dressed up forever that way.

Seattle’s University Congregational UCC Pastor Catherine Foote, her Border Collie, Annie, and former PNC moderator Scott Ward and his Schnauzer, Dexter, are connected to Kizzie’s newest children’s picture book, A Tall Tale About Dachshunds in Costumes: How MORE Dogs Came to Be.

After Kizzie published her first two children’s books in her Tall Tales series, How Dachshunds Came to Be: A Tall Tale About a Short Long Dog (2012) and A Tall Tale About a Dachshund and a Pelican: How a Friendship Came to Be (2016), she received much kidding: “When will you include other dogs?”

“Over the years, I have been impressed with how our National Parks Welcome Centers highlight and label the local vegetation each season. How might I combine more dogs, Pacific Northwest foliage and dachshunds?” Kizzie asked herself.

One winter day, her wirehaired dachshund, Lacey, romped through the snow. Soon covered in flakes—she looked like a little snow bear.  That gave Kizzie the idea of dachshunds being covered in local foliage to become other dogs.

She shared the story line that once upon a time, long, long ago, after an autumn storm, a little girl’s dachshunds go out to help her clean up. Instead, they begin an adventure of playing dress-up in the strewn-about foliage.

“Then, just like young children who don’t want to change out of their costumes, some of the dogs want to stay dressed up. Through the power of love and a magical sea, eight dachshunds are transformed into eight new dog breeds,” she said.

Kizzie’s dilemma was to choose which dog breeds to use from among so many.

“I reflected on the dogs that had caught my affections and imagination over the years,” she said.

That’s where Catherine’s Border Collie and Scott’s Schnauzer come in.

Scott and Kizzie met at a Seattle art gallery almost two decades ago when he facilitated a class, based Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way.

“Over the years, I took other classes from him, and we kept in touch. He joined my home church, Magnolia UCC, and eventually became Moderator for our Pacific Northwest Conference,” she said.

When Kizzie wrote her first Tall Tale, Scott agreed to illustrate it and has since illustrated the entire series.

“When Scott and husband Cameron Vail got their Schnauzer, Dexter, he became my nephew,” she said.  “Of course, Schnauzers would be included in my new book.”

Kizzie had long admired how Catherine’s love of sheep and Border Collies modeled a fascinating way to participate with Mother Nature.

“Each spring her Facebook fans, including me, eagerly await ‘Lamb Watch’ season and the birthing of the new babies,” Kizzie said.  “Trusty Border Collies help Catherine tend the sheep. Annie, with a champion lineage, came to Washington State from Yorkshire, England. So Border Collies would be included.”

Six more dogs round out the tall tale. Kizzie Jones, Author Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KizzieJonesAuthor/ tells their back stories, which will also be blog  posts on https://kizziejones.com/blog.html.

A Tall Tale About Dachshunds in Costumes  includes three glossaries about the dachshund types, new dog breeds, and vegetation Written in anapestic tetrameter—like The Night before Christmas—it gives perspective on the pups’ antics.

Costumes is available in English and Spanish. The other two are in various combinations of English, German, Spanish and French.

For information, visit kizziejones.com.

 

Copyright © Winter 2019-2020 Pacific NW United Church News

 

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