Chronicle writer pens children’s book
Mischief is written all over the faces of Ava and Prince, two rescue dogs who are the subject of a new children’s book by Houston Chronicle fashion writer Joy Sewing.
Four-year-old Prince (obviously) is the one wearing a crown, and Ava, 5, is the beauty peeking out from behind her adopted brother. The boxers are the fur babies that Sewing adopted a few years ago, and since then they have gained popularity all on their own with more than 3,700 Instagram followers (instagram.com/avaandtheprince). Now they’re the stars of their own book — “Ava and the Prince” (LongTale Publishing; $15.95; 32 pages), which publishes Monday.
Ava has modeled a Wonder Woman costume at Halloween, and their antics destroying throw pillows, chewing up shoes or napping on the sofa when no one’s looking prompted Sewing’s friends to urge her to take their hilarious story to the next level.
They suggested a calendar. (Um, no.) A book. (Well, maybe.) Sewing is a fan of children’s books and regularly writes about them for the Chronicle’s Zest section. Since she’s a fan of petrescue groups and Ava and Prince are rescue dogs, she thought that their story could be fodder for a book.
“Pets add unconditional love and a kind of innocence that no other creature in your house can give you. Dogs just want to be in your space, they want to be loved, and they want to give you their undivided attention,” said Sewing, a Houston native. “Children can relate to that.”
Sewing will sign copies of her book Saturday at Blue Willow Bookshop, then again on Oct. 13 at Brazos Bookstore. Additionally, “Ava and the Prince” will be part of the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation’s My Home Library program.
The result is a young readers book, designed by Chronicle art director Susan Barber, that tells the story of how dogs — or any pet, for that matter — can steal your heart and complete your family. It’s also meant to instill empathy in children for all animals and encourage families to consider adopting rescue animals when they want pets.
Sewing adopted Ava after a chance encounter at Neiman Marcus in 2013. She was there to interview fashion designer Roland Mouret, just as the retailer was in the midst of its annual Holiday Windows of Life, when it fills its firstfloor display windows with cats and dogs in need of forever homes.
This year’s Windows of Life will be the 30th such event and will run from Black Friday through Christmas. During the event, Neiman Marcus helps the Houston SPCA find homes for about 200 pets.
Sewing had slipped out a back door and saw a woman walking Ava — then named Foxy. Years earlier, Sewing saw a cute photo of a boxer on the internet and decided right then that a boxer would be her next pet. After two years of thinking about it and months of searching, she still hadn’t found her dream dog: a boxer with a flashy fawn coat and a black face.
But there she was, panting and wagging her tail right in front of her. Sewing paid the adoption fees, then returned after work to pick her up.
Ava was just a pup and had been given up by an owner who couldn’t keep up with her energy. Sewing took her on walks at Hermann Park and visited dog parks, and every time she met someone with a boxer, the person always had two. So next came Prince, whom she found through Lone Star Boxer Rescue, and the two pooches have been fast friends ever since.
Yet they couldn’t be more different. Ava loves attention and has a big personality. Prince eats and sleeps and might bark if someone knocks on the door. When he’s feeling lazy, he eats lying down.
“Ava and the Prince” encourages children to see pets as part of their family, as creatures that both give and receive love and comfort.
Sewing grew up with pets of all kinds; she had cats and dogs and turtles and ducks. Yes, ducks. Inside the Loop. And mostly because when she was very young she loved Robert McCloskey’s classic children’s book, “Make Way for Ducklings.”
“It was my all-time favorite book as a child, and I checked it out of the library as many times as they would let me. I wore that book out,” she said.
Her connection to pets resurfaced a year ago when Sewing was sent to NRG to write a story about its pet-reunion area, where Hurricane Harvey evacuees went in hopes of finding their lost pets.
“I was really touched by one mother and daughter. The little girl was frantically going from cage to cage to find their dogs. I just broke down and cried,” she said, noting that they found two of their three dogs.
As for Ava and Prince, they’re getting ready for their own five minutes of fame.
“Well, Ava likes to eat, and I have to watch her because she’ll eat Prince’s food,” Sewing said. “She learned how to run on the treadmill, and she’s back on it. She has upped her workouts to 20 minutes, twice a day.”