As we scoot into summer, we are delighted to present to you Scooter Dog by Doris and Lionel author Lo Cole. Eddie is a scooter dog, and scooter dogs love to go SUPERFAST. Flying across fields, whizzing through woods, bombing along the beach. But when Eddie has an accident, his friend Thelma shows him all the things you only discover when you slow down. In this blog author, illustrator and animator Lo Cole talks about the story behind the creation of his new book.
Scooter Dog started life as a doodle. Although he appeared as a dog on a scooter, with the name Scooter Dog, he barely resembles how he looks today. He was crudely depicted in a thick stroked black brush line on a blue background. I called him ‘Billy’ and he certainly didn’t have a story. I posted him on Instagram and thought that was that. It was my agent, Helen, who remarked on how cool she thought he was – perhaps there could be life in this blue dog?
So, I set about writing a poem featuring Billy the Scooter Dog. The idea was simple – he loved speed, but would have to have a crash in order for him to discover the joys of walking:
“Billy was a scooter dog
who loved to scooter fast,
Whatever was in front of him,
he had to scooter past.”
Scooter Dog was born, speeding through his journey to school until he came a cropper attempting to scooter down the steepest hill in town – without any brakes – and smashing into a passing tortoise. The problem was that the poem didn’t work as a picture book. So, along with so many half-baked ideas, Billy languished on my shelf of unpublished books for maybe a year or two. Once again, Helen came to his rescue and presented me with a sample text to see how Billy might work as a narrative. I worked it up as a non-rhyming story: Billy became Eddie, the tortoise became Thelma and the pictures became full of things for Eddie (and the reader) to spot. He was no longer on his way to school, but in his own Eddie world, where he could move from one landscape to another and notice all manner of wonderful things along the way.
Funnily enough, the crash episode was inspired by a true event. At the tender age of 14, myself and two schoolfriend’s decided that it would be a brilliant idea to cycle from London to Dorset. It was the mid 1970’s and although we were somewhat stupid, we still managed to pull it off. Along the way, one of us thought that it would be enormous fun to cycle down the steepest hill in Dorset – without the use of brakes. I managed to get to the first bend, before crashing head first into a pub wall. When I gingerly got back on my slightly damaged bicycle, I discovered both of my friends had suffered a similar fate albeit slightly further down the hill. Little did I know that this incident would form the inspiration for the story of Eddie, the Scooter Dog. (In the photo that’s me on the right.)
I’m fascinated by the way an idea can evolve. What seems to be a non-starter can become a fully fledged book. Then there are times when what seems to be a brilliant idea can result in much work producing nothing at all. It’s not until the journey is embarked upon that one finds this out. The important thing is to start. With Eddie there were many hoops to go through before he became an actual book – moments of despair, lightbulb moments – horrible and lovely moments along the way. Now that Scooter Dog is out in the world, I’m very happy with the end result.
I’m lucky to have a great team around me – the book wouldn’t be possible without the support of Helen, my agent at Pickled Ink; the sympathetic art direction and design provided by Ness Wood (it was Ness who quite rightly suggested that the title should just be ‘Scooter Dog’ and not ‘Eddie – the Scooter Dog); and the astute insight and editorial skills of Libby Hamilton, my publisher at Rocket Bird Books.
So whether you are going fast or slow, remember the important thing is to keep your eyes open for all the amazing things around us, just like Eddie.
Take care,
Lo
You can find Lo Cole on instagram @Lo_Cole and if you are fast enough you can grab a copy of Scooter Dog here.
Thanks for reading!