Sonny's Story: How an Adventurous Dog Found a Home is about a dog named Sonny who lives in Savannah, Georgia. Sonny is self-reliant and resourceful but he doesn't have a family. Sonny meets three girls who are on vacation in Savannah and they help Sonny look for a family. One of the girl's elderly parents adopt Sonny and he moves to Boston, Massachusetts, where they live. This book chronicles Sonny's adventures in Savannah and in Boston and how Sonny discovers the true meaning of "home" and "family" through building relationships with his new friends and adopted "parents". Sonny's Story is highlighted with enlivening illustrations and can be enjoyed by adults as well as children. The target ages are 8 years and older. Sonny lives in Boston with Herman and Judy. This is a true story. Almost all the characters are real people and Sonny is a real dog from Savannah. Judy, Herman, and Sonny are a family. Miriam Chernoff, Sharon Holier and Jane Ives (coauthors) share an empathy with animals and the value of family relationships. Apollo Burch (illustrator) is an experienced concept artist and illustrator, Lisa Syverson (designer) has a special affinity with children and young adults, and enjoys teaching and nurturing their creativity.
Miriam Chernoff grew up in Palo Alto, California. She now lives with her husband, Stan, in Waltham, MA. Miriam loves to read, walk and swim. She also likes to learn languages. Miriam adopted her first dog, Circe, when she was ten years old. Since then, she and her family have had several wonderful dogs. Most recently, she and Stan had a white and champagne-colored Pekingese named Phineas. And, of course, her parents have Sonny.
Sharon Holiner grew up in Dover, Massachusetts, close to Boston. She lives in New York City and recently completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree at Sarah Lawrence, and is now a teacher. She loves to draw and paint, write and eat, and has especially always loved to read. She loves that books take the person reading them into another world or a different way to see the world. She always wanted to be able to talk to animals, and she enjoyed the opportunity to do that by writing from Sonny’s perspective.
Jane Ives grew up and still lives in Newton, Massachusetts. After receiving an undergraduate degree at Mills College, in California, she earned her doctor’s degree from the University of London, England and has been a Business Professor for many years. Jane enjoys traveling, music, reading, movies and her friends. Jane was afraid of dogs as a child but as an adult grew close to two family dogs, Leba and a Dalmatian and Black Lab mix named Sam.
