Be More Dog: Meet the author and art director

Be More Dog is a funny and heart-warming picture book about finding joy in the simplest things. With uplifting text from Caroline Crowe and engaging, lively illustrations from Carlos Vélez, this feel-good story celebrates the connection between children and pets and encourages us all to be more dog!

To celebrate the release of Be More Dog our Art and Production Director, Leah McDowell and author Caroline Crowe share the story behind how this gorgeous new book came about!

Leah McDowell: Art & Production Director

1. Would you give us the inside scoop on the process of acquiring this title? 

When Caroline’s agent at Darley Anderson sent the text for Be More Dog to one of our editorial directors, Sally Polson, she replied immediately to say how much she loved it, and that she would get back to her as soon as possible after discussing it with the team.

People may imagine that it’s easy to write a short picture book story, but it’s very rare for us to receive a story with such a strong, clear concept as Be More Dog, and it takes great skill to deliver such a complete, emotionally engaging and funny story in so few words. The dog lovers at Floris immediately fell in love with Caroline’s new story, which was brimming with warmth, character and feeling. After working with Caroline on a few small edits to finesse the wording and provide the best opportunity for gorgeous, varied illustrations, we were ready to offer her a contract, which we were thrilled she accepted. At that point we just needed to find the perfect illustrator…

2. What did you enjoy most about working with Carlos Vélez and Caroline Crowe?
I loved the first book of Caroline’s that Floris published, Our Incredible Library Book (and the Wonderful Journeys it Took), illustrated by John Joseph. I still remember how excited the team were when that was brought to the acquisitions meeting, so I knew Be More Dog would be beautifully written, emotional and that it would also have a strong concept. It’s joyful working on a book that you love!

This is the second book I’ve worked on with Carlos (the first was A Billion Balloons of Questions by Amy Moreno) so I knew I would enjoy seeing him create vibrant, energetic artwork in response to Caroline’s text. He didn’t disappoint!

3. What drew you most to Carlos Vélez? Were there specific titles or pieces in his folio that sealed the deal?
After working on A Billion Balloons of Questions, I knew that we’d have a good working relationship and that we’d know what to expect from one another; reliability of an artist to deliver is a big part of a publisher’s decision to commission them.

I also knew he’d be great at infusing personality and energy into the human characters, but we wanted to check how he’d handle drawing the dog so we requested a sample. The resulting sketches were so charming, energetic and cute that they appear in the final book, almost completely unchanged!

4. What did you find most challenging as well as rewarding about bringing this title to life?
So much of a dog’s charm and personality is communicated through its movement, so it was always going to be difficult to capture that in static illustrations. Carlos was up for the challenge though; he did a brilliant job of communicating Sam’s joyful, loving spirit in his work. The illustration of Sam when he sees his adult owner return home always makes me laugh – the pure enthusiasm and excitement in Sam’s eyes is wonderful.

5. Any takeaways that you’d like to share?

We should all ‘be more dog’! We can’t wait to publish this beautiful, charming book and share this message with children (and adults) all around the world.

Caroline Crowe: Author

1. What has been the most rewarding part of your profession as an author and specific to children’s books?

I feel so lucky to be able to do something I love as my job, just sitting down and playing around with words and stories is rewarding in itself. But seeing those stories out in the world being enjoyed by children is my absolutely favourite thing. To know that something you wrote is making a child giggle or smile or firing their imagination is incredibly special.

2. What drew you to Carlos Vélez’s art and was there a certain illustration that resonated with you?

As a picture book writer, my publishers are the ones who decide which illustrator will work on my stories. It’s always exciting to see which direction they want to take and with Floris Books I knew Be More Dog was in safe hands. Carlos is so skilled at translating emotion and relationships on to the page. The front cover perfectly captures the joy and energy of the friendship between the boy and dog. I also absolutely love the spread when it starts to rain; there is magic in those illustrations.

3. Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for Be More Dog?

Be More Dog was actually inspired by our family dog, Oka (picture below). During the Covid lockdowns in the UK, everyone was obviously quite anxious and finding it difficult to remain positive at times. One day I looked up from writing and noticed Oka lying in a small patch of sun on the floor of our sitting room. He’d found a bright spot and was just enjoying the moment. It was that image that sparked the idea for Be More Dog. The knowledge that even in the most difficult times, there can be moments of light and we need to try and stop and appreciate them. Dogs are very good at finding joy in the smallest of things!

4. What did you enjoy most about collaborating with Carlos?  

I haven’t actually had any direct contact with Carlos as my publisher handles that side of the process. But seeing my stories come alive through someone else’s eyes is always one of my favourite parts of the picture book journey. One of the things  that really made me smile with this book is the image of Sam and the boy doing something that makes them happy while they wait for Dad to come home. When I wrote that line I pictured the boy curled up in a chair reading a book, because that’s what I loved to do as a child. But Carlos has illustrated that line with the boy drawing a picture – I’m guessing because that’s something he has always loved to do! It’s just the perfect demonstration of how picture books are a total collaboration between artist and writer. The art doesn’t just illustrate the words, it brings new layers to the story.

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