Poedy Principles Series
One hound. Twelve principles. A refrain a child will finish for you.
Picture books for readers of three to seven, written to be read aloud. Each book teaches one principle through Poedy, a basset hound, and ends every spread on a line the child learns to say.
The character
Poedy
Poedy is a tricolor Basset Hound: black, red-mahogany and white, built low and long, with the breed’s patient gravity and a face that looks as though it has seen everything and forgiven most of it. He is the namesake of the house and the emotional center of the series.
He began as a pencil sketch of a hound’s head, drawn from imagination by Lauren K. Fuller on January 26, 2006. That drawing governs every picture of him. Character created from an original drawing by Lauren K. Fuller.
The twelve books
In reading order
- 1Why We Do ThingsArt direction under way
- 2Rules Are HelpersManuscript written
- 3Words and Doing MatchManuscript written
- 4How Do We Know It’s True?Manuscript written
- 5Being Willing to Be WrongManuscript written
- 6Practice Makes the ExpertManuscript written
- 7Earning the Bigger JobManuscript written
- 8Saying “I Don’t Agree” KindlyManuscript written
- 9Taking Care of What Isn’t OursManuscript written
- 10Is It Time Yet?Manuscript written
- 11Making It Right, Not Just SorryManuscript written
- 12Remembering What We LearnedManuscript written
Manuscripts for all twelve are written. Art direction for Book 1 is under way; the books publish when the paintings are finished, not before.
Reading together
Built to be read aloud
The refrain. Every book has one line, set in mahogany, that sits in the same place on every spread. After two or three readings the child says it before you do.
Read it together. Each book ends with five prompts in a fixed order: finish the line, remember, wonder, who and why, and your world. They are plain words, not a lesson plan.
The rule the books keep. Name bad conduct, never bad character. Measure every idea against enduring principles. Trust the reader, young or old, to find the lesson inside the story.