No Guppy, Puppy!
The Puppy Problems Series

Written and Illustrated by Tamira Thayne

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No Guppy, Puppy! introduces our littlest readers to lots of new animal friends as we learn about Puppy’s little problem: he likes to chase animals!

But guess what? The other animals don’t want to be chased. So Mom gives Puppy something fun and safe to do for each animal they meet.

In the end, Puppy finally sees someone Mom will let him chase…shhh…you’ll have to read the story to find out who it is!

Written and illustrated by Tamira Thayne, No Guppy, Puppy! seeks to introduce young readers ages 3 and up to both early sight words and the animals we can see on our daily walks. It also introduces the concept of redirection from unwanted behaviors to something more positive, safe, and fun! Bold colors, simple artwork, and short sentences make for a great bedtime or anytime read for young families on the go.

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About the Author and Illustrator

Tamira Thayne is an author, publisher, and the founder and former CEO of Dogs Deserve Better, a nonprofit organization seeking to free dogs from chains.

She’s the author of the Animal Protector Series, which to date includes Squirmy Hermie’s Heroics, Raffy Calfy’s Rescue, Spittin’ Kitten’s Speed Away, and Smidgey Pidgey’s Predicament. She’s also written Happy Dog Coloring Book, It Went to the Dogs, Capitol in Chains, Foster Doggie Insanity, and the Chained Gods young adult series. She is the editor of More Rescue Smiles, and co-editor of Don’t Look a Gift Couch in the Mouth (forthcoming), Unchain My Heart, and Rescue Smiles. (see all her books on her Amazon author page here.)

Tamira lives by a river in the woods of northern Virginia, with her husband, daughter, one dog, seven cats, and hundreds of outside birds and critters she adores from afar. You can reach her through her website at tamirathayne.com.

About The Puppy Problems Series

Puppy’s got a little puppy problem—well, lots of them, if we’re honest. Join us for loads of fun—and color!—as Puppy and our littlest readers explore the world around us. We’ll meet other animals and begin to understand life through a dog’s eyes! P.S. Be sure to say it like this: “Puppy Pwobwems,” because that’s how Mom says it to the “real” Puppy and it gets him all wound up!

About The Real “Puppy,” aka why Tamira Wrote the Book

The idea for No Guppy, Puppy! came from my daily walks in the woods with our rescue dog Khronos. Khronos doesn’t know his real name, because I quickly nicknamed him “His Puppyness” or “Puppy” for short.

We wanted to adopt a dog who would stay with us whenever we spent time outside; however, when we chose Khronos from a rescue group in Pennsylvania, we had no way of knowing how he would do off leash…

Unfortunately hanging with us was not his strong suit—our boy especially enjoyed running off and FINDING ANIMALS TO CHASE! Yikes.

One time, he even broke his leash chasing after a squirrel! Luckily, the squirrel could climb and His Puppyness couldn’t, so he/she was able to escape to safety.

Given Khronos’ enthusiasm for chasing animals, I had to find ways to redirect his attention from the squirrels, cats, horses, and other animals we met on our travels.

I started carrying treats with me, and Puppy loves, loves, LOVES sticks! To his mind, no stick is too big to drag around or chew up. He also likes to bring them to me in an invitation to play tug-of-war with him.

I thought this story would be a fun way to introduce other animals to our littlest readers, and so the idea for No Guppy, Puppy! and the Puppy Problems series was born… —Author Tamira Thayne