As I’ve written before, my dad has read Mr. Dog’s Christmas to me every Christmas Eve since I was two years old. I don’t remember those very early readings, of course. In fact, I don’t have recollections of Christmas until my sixth—a Christmas that’s immortalized in my family for an incident that ended with me being sent to my room. It’s also the Christmas that marked my transition from believer to playing-along-er. One of many magical Christmases past. “My parents heartily encouraged believing. They went all out to make Christmas a truly magical experience. Among the many weird and wonderful rituals they established was the burning of the wish list.” By my sixth year I was beginning to explore the...

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As channeled to Henry and Betsy Cordes by Albert Bigelow Paine One night, in the House of Many Windows, when the Little Ladies were all snug in their beds, their mother came into the drawing room to sit by the fire with the Storyteller. “I wonder,” she mused aloud, “whether the folks at the Hollow Tree Inn ever have a little night cap?” “Well,” said the Storyteller, “I’m fairly certain they must. Have I ever told you the story about Mr. Dog introducing them to the fine art of cocktail mixology?” “Why no,” she chuckled, “I don’t believe you have. It sounds delightful. Why don’t I pour us both a sip of brandy and we can sit here together for...

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Halloween Greetings, dear readers! I’m delighted to be back, kicking off our fourth year of festivities with Mr. Dog! It’s been a wonderful whirlwind since our thrilling Kickstarter launch back in 2014. Each new holiday season brings lots of inspiration, rekindling my dream of sharing this beloved Christmas story with an even wider audience.   We have some fun new things up our sleeves this year, including… recipes for craft cocktails and savory snacks worthy of a Hollow Tree celebration, an all-new read-aloud advent calendar (Do you have a furry friend or two in your home? We have a fun new idea and will invite your participation. Stay tuned for details!), our first-ever Gift Guide (everything one needs for a...

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Though I grew up loving Albert Bigelow Paine’s “Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn,” it wasn’t until later in life that I learned of the existence of three volumes of Hollow Tree stories, a generous series featuring all the familiar characters from the Christmas tale—and many, many more. As I became familiar with Paine's series, I was a little surprised to learn that Mr. Dog wasn’t always on such great terms with the Hollow Tree folks. If you only know Mr. Dog and friends through our book, you’re kind of in the same boat I was. Maybe you’ve wondered about that line “You see, Mr. Dog liked them all now…”. It certainly gives a clue that there’s a backstory, doesn’t...

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Goodness gracious, how the time does fly! I've been meaning to share these fun photos of us with Mr. Dog at the Bay Area Book Festival, which happened across the bay in Berkeley, California, back in June.  We transformed a rather bland little 8x8 foot square into a proper Hollow Tree celebration in record time, early on a Saturday morning, and spent the next two days meeting and greeting Mr. Dog fans new and old.  Our photobooth with lifesize Mr. Dog was a big hit! The Hollow Tree Bulletin Board was replete with the latest news and offerings from Mr. Dog and friends. Our gorgeous book was beautifully displayed with Deep Woods trimmings. Did anyone contact Mr. Crow for lessons?!...

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