Bianca with Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko on Dogtown

Award-winning authors Katherine Applegate and Gennifer
Choldenko's co-authored book Dogtown showcases how
fiction can help instill empathy and compassion, especially in
fun stories that involve animals. They discuss the immeasurable
and inspiring power of literature. Their work is a testament to
the fact that stories can have a meaningful impact on the human
experience. Dogtown encourages us to take the time to
stop and consider the world around us and to become more aware
and empathetic members of our community.





Katherine Applegate is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author
of beloved and award-winning books for young readers, including
Odder, Home of the Brave, Crenshaw, Wishtree, Willodeen, and The
One and Only Ivan, for which she won the Newbery Medal. She is
also the author of the Animorphs series, and a beginning reader
series, Doggo and Pupper, illustrated by Charlie Alder. Katherine
Applegate lives in Southern California with her family.


Gennifer Choldenko’s best known Tales from Alcatraz series has
been called “A cornerstone series in contemporary children’s
literature.” Al Capone Does My Shirts―the first book in the
series―was a Newbery Honor Book and the recipient of twenty other
awards. All four books in the series were Junior Library Guild
selections and garnered many starred reviews. Gennifer lives in
the San Francisco Bay area with her loyal husband and naughty
dog.





Transcription:


You can read the transcription on ⁠The Children's Book Review
(coming soon)⁠.





Order a Copy:


Dogtown on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.





Resources:


You can find out more about Katherine Applegate at
https://katherineapplegate.com/.





You can find out more about Gennifer Choldenko at
https://www.choldenko.com/.





Discussion Topics:


Katherine and Gennifer talk about:


Their love of dogs, writing, and, of course, Dogtown

Katherine's struggles with sitting down to write and how she
uses the Pomodoro method to help her get started

How they connected over their love for middle grade readers
and collaborated on writing Dogtown

Research for Dogtown, including volunteering at a pet
shelter and training dogs for therapy work

How the idea of robot dogs versus real dogs came about for
the story

The main characters Metalhead and Chance and what they
represent

Wallace West's illustrations in the book and how he brought
it to life with his quirky and original style

The importance of fiction in developing empathy and
compassion, and how stories about animals (like Dogtown) can
inspire kids to cherish and appreciate their furry companions