MOUNT VERNON – Paragraphs Bookstore holds book signings roughly once a month. Some are bigger than others; in February the S. Main St. shop welcomed nationally known young adult novelist Jason Reynolds. Next month it will host New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz. The store has also hosted a bevy of local, independent authors over the years.
This month’s guest, however, is different. Through her work, she’s developed a personal connection to the Mount Vernon community – even though she hails from eastern Pennsylvania.
Lisa Papp, an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books, based her most recent tale off of the WAGS program run by Mount Vernon Middle School teacher Trudy Debolt. It’s called Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog, and it’s about a little girl who reads to the dogs at her local shelter to keep them from getting lonely.
She eventually gathers a group of people who read to the dogs, much like the WAGS program, which sends more than 50 Mount Vernon students to the Knox County Animal Shelter each week on a similar mission.
According to Debolt, Papp became aware of WAGS via Phil Samuel, who takes professional photos of the dogs at the Knox County shelter for its website. Samuel knows Papp, Debolt said, and he has posted pictures of the WAGS students in action on his Facebook page. When Papp became aware of Debolt’s program, she was inspired to write about it.
Papp’s new book came out March 1. She’ll be signing it, along with its prequel, Madeline Finn and the Library Dog (which is about a young student who gains confidence as a reader by working with her library’s therapy dog), this weekend in Mount Vernon. Papp will be at Paragraphs on Friday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Both books will be available for purchase at the store during signing times.
But it’s more than just a weekend of book signings, Debolt said. Papp plans to arrive early Friday morning and spend the day speaking to English classes at the middle school and Twin Oak Elementary. She’ll get to meet the students in Debolt’s WAGS program, and on Saturday she will read to the dogs at Knox County Animal Shelter alongside them.
“She’ll be at the shelter on Saturday and that’s probably the biggest deal, is that she’s going to be reading her book about my program to a dog,” Debolt said. “It’s going to be incredible.”
Papp’s plan to appear in Mount Vernon was somewhat impromptu; she called Samuel last Friday night and said she had a couple days free on her book tour, and asked if she could stop by Mount Vernon for a signing. Samuel then contacted Lois Hanson, manager of Paragraphs, and she quickly ordered books and began advertising.
“Monday morning, right away, I called her publisher, Peachtree down in Atlanta. I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got something going Friday, can I get books by Thursday?’ And they said yes,” Hanson said Wednesday, still frazzled but clearly excited. “It’s been very quick.”
Hanson is hoping for a solid turnout because of the theme of Papp’s new book, although she is worried about having such a short window for advertising. Samuel plans to attend the signings with his therapy dog, Sandy, which Hanson said could help boost attendance.
“He’ll be here to be loved and petted and everything,” she said with a smile.
Interestingly enough, Debolt said Papp never contacted her before or during the writing process for her latest book. She did email the teacher afterwards, Debolt said, to send her advanced copies and ask for tips when it came to starting her own WAGS program back home.
The visit to Mount Vernon was a surprise to Debolt as well. She remembers joking with Papp on Facebook about the idea, but never imagining she’d actually follow through with it.
“It was quite a shock but we were really excited, and to have her be able to come and experience a WAGS session with our readers is more than what we ever thought it would be,” Debolt said. “So that’s incredible.”
Debolt started WAGS, which stands for Working Dog Awareness Group, five years ago. The program is meant to benefit both students and dogs, she said; it teaches youngsters about the benefits of giving back, and it gives the shelter dogs much-needed attention and care. WAGS has grown since its inception, Debolt said, and it now consists of 53 students ages 8-15.
“It’s huge. Just WAGS in general has been critical in the Knox County Animal Shelter as far as getting publicity out to rescue groups and people that foster dogs. As far as I see, it’s changed our whole community,” Debolt said.
“It’s brought our student community closer together and it gives them something to make them feel important, and they know they’re making a difference.”
Debolt has read advanced copies of Papp’s book to her students in recent months, she said. Even though they are sixth graders and it is a children’s book, she said they “still really like it” because they can relate to the main character.
Debolt has told her students that Papp is coming on Friday, but she said the significance of it all is still “kind of abstract to them right now.” Once the students realize who Papp is and how her story is based off of their own, Debolt believes “it’s going to be a great experience for them.”
“With Lisa coming, it’ll probably be the biggest deal they’ve ever had in their life, is what I’m guessing,” Debolt said, “especially on Saturday.”
