Vacation Is Around the Corner
Move over Lassie, Rin Tin Tin and Benji. Make way for Mr. Pish, the latest rising star in the doggy world.
The feisty 14-year old Jack Russell terrier is a native of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Like most pups, Mr. Pish enjoys swimming, running on the beach, eating, sleeping and petting. But most of all he loves to explore and share his discoveries with his friends. This canine King of the Road is the author of a series of travel books for children, promoting respect for nature and the fun of learning.
Pish’s adventures began in 2008 when his person, K.S. Brooks, moved from Maryland’s Eastern Shore to Washington State. Brooks and Mr. Pish’s driver, David, set up a lookout for Pish in the front seat of their car (The Pishmobile) and his own room in the back. Along the way, Mr. Pish penned postcards to his, fans telling about interesting sites across country.
With guidance from Brooks, a nature photographer, Pish skipped the usual water and amusement parks and sought out natural and historical marvels to wow youngsters. Mr. Pish enjoyed his writing experience so much that he followed up his first book, Postcards from Mr. Pish: A Cross-Country Journal, with five more books, including an East Coast Edition.
Pish tells of his discoveries with all the enthusiasm of a grade schooler: “I got to see where a beaver ate a tree! (Massachusetts), “Cannons and big fort walls … made me want to pretend I was a pirate! (Quebec). “I like New Hampshire very much because it’s sort of the shape of my pointy ear.”
Along with postcards of city skylines, lighthouses and covered bridges, Mr. Pish sends photos of himself in front of the State House in Annapolis, aboard the Skipjack Nathan in Dorchester, with a Royal Mounty in Regina, Saskatchewan. (“I want to do that when I grow up!”) He includes pictures of his encounters with animals like a burrowing owl, a badger and baby wolves that are “cute and cuddly like me!”
Pish shares K. S. Brooks’ belief that “Seeing children and young adults respond to knowledge — watching that light go off in their heads — that’s what it’s all about. Learning should be fun.” Teachers use his books in classrooms in the U.S., Mexico and Scotland.
You might expect Mr. Pish to be dog-tired after visiting 41 states and seven Canadian provinces, but he’s ready to hit the road again for his next adventure — and his next book.
The Postcards from Mr. Pish series (www.mrpish.comis) is published by Cambridge Books, and the books are available at www.amazon.com. Each purchase benefits Arbor Day Foundation’s Nature Explore Program.