"Every day, long before the sun came up, Benny the Baker walked two doors down to his bakery on Harmony Street."

Benny the baker leads a simple life. He makes delicious cakes, cookies, and muffins, and keeps his customer well fed and happy. When a skinny brown dog shows up on Benny's doorstep, nothing Benny says can convince him to go away.

Benny starts to wonder what it might be like to have a dog of his own.

Inspirations

One day a stray dog wandered into my aunt and uncle’s yard. They didn’t want a dog so they ignored him. The next day the dog was still there. He looked thirsty. Aunt Barbara gave him some water, but nothing more.

    Until the next day when she discovered the dog outside her front door. That day she offered the dog scraps from their dinner. Maybe someone lost this dog, she thought. Maybe they don’t know where to find him. She called the animal shelter. They said, “No one has contacted us about a dog like that.” They told her she was welcome to leave the dog with them. But they added, “We can’t guarantee we can find a home for him.”

    The following day they put the dog in the car and set out for the shelter. About a mile down the road, Aunt Barbara stopped the car. “Don,” she said, “I can’t take this dog to the shelter.”

    Uncle Don said, “I can’t either.”

    They turned the car around and drove home--Uncle Don, Aunt Barbara, and Deacon’s home.

Reviews

"A tasty treat for reading aloud that should get a rave reception." -Kirkus Reviews

"...a well crafted picture book that children will appreciate." -School Library Journal

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