The Mr. Dog Blog — storyteller

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 it? Well, of course, Paine set it all up beautifully in the many stories that preceded “Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn” and they are well worth a read.

My hope is to someday republish a few more of them, each as an individual volume, to join the Christmas story in a beautiful slipcovered Hollow Tree Treasury (I dream big!). Until then, though, the magic of 21st century technology gives us an opportunity to share them with you another way…. Introducing: The Mr. Dog Podcast!

Victorian dog joins the digital revolution! You'll find the Mr. Dog Podcast on iTunes and here on our podcast page. Join us each week for a new episode!

My son Henry, a renaissance man if ever there was, has created this show. Each week from now until Christmas, you can listen to a new episode of The Mr. Dog Podcast, as Henry reads aloud from Paine’s Hollow Tree and Deep Woods books. Along the way you’ll meet The Storyteller and The Little Lady, Mr. Turtle, Mr. Rabbit and many more, and you’ll get to know that backstory.... what's the history behind the cozy Christmas friendship of Mr. ‘Coon, Mr. ‘Possum, Mr. Crow, and Mr. Dog, anyhow?

Henry is a wonderful storyteller (wait til you hear his Mr. Crow voice!), and in each episode he gives helpful bits of historical context and definitions for unfamiliar Victorian terms. He provides sweet musical interludes and a cozy crackling fire ambience, too. I love imagining families gathered ‘round each week to catch the latest installment, and the anticipation building as he approaches the Christmas Eve episode.

Of course, Paine was a master storyteller and it seems he loved exploring the form—the Hollow Tree tales have layers upon layers of storytelling within them. I imagine him listening to our podcast, which adds a new storyteller and a new storytelling medium to the mix. I hope he’d be pleased to find his tales being shared this way, enjoyed by many more “little folks” (and their storytellers), over 100 years after he wrote them.

I hope you’ll have a listen, too. You’ll find each episode here on our podcast page. You can also subscribe via iTunes or SoundCloud. Please let us know what you think!