My son is what some people would call a “reluctant reader.” He won’t read unless he has no other choice. He’s always been that way even with us, his teacher and reading teacher trying to encourage him to read.
He enjoys weather and I would buy him every weather related book I could find – he’s never read them. He LOVES New York City, and again, I’d buy him every book I could find and he would ever read them. Sigh…
There was ONE book series he would read – Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. He did occasionally read other books here and there, but he always read every Biscuit book I got for him.
I can’t believe that Biscuit is celebrating his 20th Anniversary this year (our son will be 17 later on this year).
I don’t normally post press releases, but I thought this one about Biscuit’s 20th Anniversary might resonate with some readers whose child or grandchild is a fan of the cute little yellow pup. Perhaps YOU read Biscuit in your youth too?
HarperCollins Children’s Books celebrates an incredible milestone this year—the 20th anniversary of the cherished book series Biscuit. With over 75 titles and over 21 million books in print in 5 different languages, Alyssa Satin Capucilli’s Biscuit series continues to mesmerize generations of readers.
The idea of Biscuit was brought to HarperCollins in 1994 by Capucilli’s agent as a picture book, with illustrations by Pat Schories, but was soon reworked so that it could start the creation of a new section of the I Can Read! program, called Level 1 I Can Read! The first Biscuit book was published in 1996, and since then the franchise has helped over 20 million emergent children learn to read, and has over fifty books in circulation, including, Biscuit Finds a Friend, Bathtime for Biscuit, and Biscuit Builds a Treehouse. The series has since spawned picture books, board books, and novelty books, along with a new Level 1 I Can Read! book being released annually. Many fans have taken this small yellow puppy and his world into their hearts and their imaginations.
The idea for Capucilli’s children books came from personal experience, like so many great stories of the past. It was her daughter’s interaction while dog sitting a neighbor’s huge, rambunctious dog that ultimately lead her to write the first book. It was this inspiration as well as Capucilli’s drawing upon her childhood bond with literary characters, love of poetry, rhythm and music that crafted the world of Biscuit.
“Although there is much we hope to celebrate in the life of a young child, it is a particularly magical celebration when a child learns to read independently,” Capucilli explained in a personal letter. “Knowing that for the past twenty years, Biscuit has been even a small part of that lifelong celebration is humbling.”
In addition to the press release, I thought readers might also be interested in how the Biscuit character and book series came to be. This is the story as told by the author, Alyssa Capucilli herself.
“In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day…”
So go the first lines of Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson. My well-worn copy of A Child’s Garden Verses sits on my desk today, a tangible reminder of the love of language, poetry, story, and reading that was instilled at a very young age. I know this love of reading and my connection to characters as a reader was snugly in place when I sat down to write Biscuit, now celebrating its 20th year of publication.
Like so many writers, I drew upon events in my life, in this case watching my young daughter dog-sit a neighbor’s huge, rambunctious dog. As I watched her interacting with the pup, I was struck by her patience and gentle nature. Most of all, I loved that she believed the dog understood every word she was saying. I was swept back into my own childhood where I faithfully envisioned myself in the world of my own favorite characters, Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Clearly, sustaining my imagination and my yearning for having a dog of my own. And when I sat down with notebook in hand to tell the story of Biscuit, I rekindled my childhood bond with characters, my love of poetry, my love of rhythm and music from many years spent as a dancer, and gave shape to what to me was a melodic conversation; a conversation between a child and her beloved pet. I envisioned Biscuit as a picture book, a lullaby actually, where the recurring “Time for bed, Biscuit!” would gently soothe and entice a puppy to settle down for the night, with the repetitive “woof, woof” refrain serving as the gentle protest of a puppy or perhaps a child who was not quite ready to give up the fun of the day…yet. My agent sagaciously placed the manuscript for Biscuit into the hands of HarperCollins in July of 1994; by December of that very year I received a letter welcoming me to the venerable I Can Read family. Biscuit would be one of the titles to launch a new, younger level of I Can Read books: My First I Can Read. Pat Schories was chosen to illustrate the text, fully embracing the gentle and patient nature of the young child who always has one more hug and one more kiss for a beloved small yellow puppy.
Upon publication in 1996, I immediately began to receive mail from children, parents, and educators — children were learning to read with Biscuit noting, “Biscuit is the first book I can read all by myself.” As an avid reader myself, I was compelled to write more. Going through my notes from that time, I did naively ask my agent if we might propose the idea of Biscuit as a series, still, I am quite sure that I never envisioned twenty years of stories would follow. My sage editor fortunately rejected the next offering, Bigger Biscuit, and Biscuit safely remained a small yellow puppy for the foreseeable future. Had Biscuit “grown up” as I intended, we would certainly not have been privileged to share the treasured world of emergent readers for twenty years hence! Instead our second story was Biscuit Finds a Friend. And whether our readers envisioned themselves as the puppy that joyfully splashes through the pond or the young child who mindfully returns a lost duckling to its home, the opportunity to create new titles was at hand. In our third adventure, Bathtime for Biscuit, I began to expand the world of this silly puppy, introducing his friend, Puddles. Within five short years of publication, and tremendous support from a devoted publisher and editors, there were plans for picture books, board books and novelty books, with a new My First I Can Read title, solidly welcoming emergent readers each year. Biscuit became known to readers far and wide and in numerous languages, whether you read along with a “Woof, woof!” or a “¡Guau! ¡Guau!” or even “Hav, hav!” To date, there are over 75 titles and over 21 million books in print in many languages.
In any language, early childhood is often filled with rhythms, chants, and lullabies, often serving as the very basis for early literacy. That Biscuit’s “lullaby” was welcomed by now generations of readers, is still cause to pinch myself…honestly. And while being even a small part of the time when a child learns to read is beyond gratifying and humbling, what remains precious to me as well, is the world of Biscuit itself. Although Pat Schories and I have worked together now for over twenty years to create this world, we of course also work quite separately. What I think we share most deeply is a vision of the life of young child, whether embodied by Biscuit, or the little girl who remains unnamed – she is every child. It is a simple, uncluttered, unhurried world that I hope readers return to and linger in for its warmth and humor, its moments of mayhem and its moments of quiet. Because whether its your first time visiting a big city, or a farm, or helping a neighbor feed their pets, there’s nothing quite like having a puppy at your heels to share it with.
About the Author:
Alyssa Satin Capucilli is the author of the bestselling Biscuit books and many other beloved children’s books. She grew up in Brooklyn, where she fell in love with reading, stating that her weekly trip to the public library were much anticipated. Capucilli now resides in a book-filled home in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York with her two children, Peter and Laura, her husband Bill, and of course the family dog, a lovable chocolate Labrador named Huckleberry, who she credits with being the inspiration for a lot of her work.
*I was not compensated for this post. I posted this for the enjoyment of my site readers.