THE AUTHOR: Charlene Thomas, illustrated by Laurie Repetto
Georgia football fans, you are in for a treat! I was able to interview Charlene Thomas over lunch, finding out how she came up with the idea for her book and the fun that she had writing it.
Thomas, a retired teacher from Temple High School, has written an adorable book starring her 2-and-a-half-year-old Golden Retriever named Munson. Munson is obviously named respectfully to honor the great announcer Larry Munson, so visible (audible?) in the Georgia Bulldog Nation for so many years.
One day Thomas overheard her grandson Carson playing hide-and-seek with his parents. They would say, “Is Carson under the table?” and then they’d say, “Nooooo.” “Is Carson in the closet?” “Nooooo.” So the idea of her Munson looking for the game ball on the Georgia campus (“Is the game ball at The Varsity?” “Nooooo.”) popped into her mind. In the book Munson takes you around the landmarks on the UGA campus as he tries to find that Saturday’s game ball.
If you look closely at the illustrations, you will see the names of the author’s grandchildren written on various items in the book. That will give you something extra to concentrate on as you are reading and enjoying the illustrations.
Thomas said that it took her about a year to finish her book, and she learned something new every day she worked on it. The company that she used as her publisher, listed at the book’s end, assisted her in getting the “collegiate seal” for the book, and in getting it sold at the UGA Bookstore.
To get the seal she had to find Herschel Walker (only the greatest Bulldog of all time) and get him to sign a release form. She did find Herschel, he read the book, he signed the form, and gave the book his blessing.
Thomas will be at the Georgia Bulldogs’ second ballgame, in the bookstore, autographing “A Dog Named Munson,” and if you are really lucky Munson also may sign your book. Printed in the United States, the book can be found locally only at Willis Jewelry for now, although Thomas is hoping to get her book into other local bookstores as well.
To make the illustrations come to life, Thomas took her very expressive dog Munson out to her back yard, and took a bunch of photos. She also went to the Georgia campus and took many more. Thomas then gave the pictures to Laurie Repetto, a local artist, and she blessed us with a beautifully illustrated book, finishing her illustrations within eight months of receiving the pictures from Thomas.
At one signing, Thomas said that a child walked up the a poster of Munson, also beautifully rendered by Repetto, and patted the dog’s life-like image. I don’t know about you, but I get that same warm and familiar feeling from Repetto’s work. I feel as if I could reach out and give Munson a hug. It is wonderful work, revealing the compassionate character of Repetto who, not surprisingly, is studying to become a nurse.
I thoroughly enjoyed joining Munson as he took me around campus looking for the game ball among all the familiar and historic landmarks – especially The Arch, under which, legend had it, no freshman female student could walk or she might never have children! My husband Kevin and I are Georgia graduates, and this book brings back so many memories for us. And four children later, I am living proof that the legend of The Arch is nonsense.
Thomas and the rest of the Bulldog Nation received their Georgia tickets about a week ago. Thomas enjoys Saturday tailgating with several local families, and the photo at the back of the book was taken last year at one of Georgia’s games, well before the idea for the book was born.
This is a delightful book to which I am glad to give “3.5 tiaras.” I asked Thomas if Munson (or perhaps some other campus’ mascot) would next be looking for a game ball at some other campuses in the country, and she said that he would not. She’s apparently “Bulldog born and Bulldog bred,” exclusively. She does have plans for Munson to go on other adventures, however, so you can look for other Munson stories in the future.
Happy Reading.
Buice, a Carrollton resident, writes a weekly column for the Times-Georgian. anita of anitabook.com
Buice, a Carrollton resident, writes a weekly column for the Times-Georgian. anita of anitabook.com
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