Hi, Stephanie! Please tell us a little about yourself!
Hello, Alisha. Thank you for hosting me on your blog! I’m a former biologist and dog trainer turned children’s author. I enjoy writing humorous fiction, but my main love is nonfiction about animals. I’ve loved nature my entire life and fondly remember my childhood summers at the cottage searching for snakes and racing turtles. It’s no surprise I ended up studying biology, earning a bachelor’s degree in ecology and a Master of Science in animal behavior. After working as a gorilla researcher for a number of years, I found my way to dog training where I taught families to appreciate the canine point of view. Now I work as a freelance writer and write books for children. Most of my manuscripts feature animals, of course, including the picture book we’re talking about today – Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses. It’s my fifth book to date and I have a sixth coming out in August of 2025.
What inspired you to write this book?
I was inspired to write about dog sensory perception after years of dog training. My clients would often look at their dogs as furry little people, interpreting their behavior through a human lens. I enjoyed helping them appreciate the way their dogs actually saw the world. For example, dogs interpret their environment predominately through scent versus sight, so no wonder they love to sniff fire hydrants or other dogs’ butts! This book is my way of passing on that knowledge to young readers.
Did you encounter any challenges along the way?
This book is a companion to my middle grade book Making Sense of Dog Senses: How Our Furry Friends Experience the World (illustrated by Raz Latif). So one of the biggest challenges was presenting similar science for a younger audience. I needed to keep the information, such as depth perception or color vision, at the right age level. Another challenge was writing the jokes. I decided to include a joke for each sense, and I wanted something silly that kids would have fun repeating. In the Kirkus review of the book, the reviewer called the jokes “cheesy dad jokes,” so I think I can say goal accomplished!
What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
I truly hope kids take away an appreciation that we don’t all experience the world in the same way. Just as every animal has their own perception, each human is unique, and if we can learn to recognize and value that, I think the world would be a much kinder place. I also hope readers are fascinated by the science in the book and inspired to learn more about dogs and their behavior. The more we understand dogs, the better stewards we can be for their care.
Have you developed any additional activities or teacher’s guides to extend the learning experience when reading your book?
I don’t as yet have any additional activities or teacher’s guides but keep an eye on my website as I hope to post some soon. However, there is a fabulous educational poster that the publisher, Owlkids Books, created for Making Sense of Dog Senses that readers and educators might enjoy. It shows a labeled illustration of a bloodhound’s head explaining why they are such powerful sniffers.
- Book Title: Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses
- Author: Stephanie Gibeault
- Illustrator: Bambi Edlund
- Publisher: Owlkids Books
- ISBN: 9781771475785
- Release Date: March 18, 2025
Are there any other projects you’re excited about right now?
I’m excited to teach for the Highlights Foundation again this June. The course is called Building Brilliant Book Proposals, and my agent Jacqui Lipton and I will be explaining how to craft compelling nonfiction book proposals. It’s going to be two evenings crammed full of helpful information. I’m also excited about my upcoming picture book biography of a beehive sniffing detection dog. The Dog Who Saved the Bees (illustrated by David Hohn, published by Sleeping Bear Press) comes out on August 1, 2025, and tells the true story of Cybil Preston, the chief apiary inspector for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, and her sniffer dog Mack. Cybil needed a detection dog to protect bees from a deadly disease, but when she rescued Mack from a lonely life in a garage, she faced an uphill struggle teaching the untrained and easily distracted dog to focus and do his job. After nine years of service, Mack retired this past summer, so I’m thrilled we can celebrate his hard work with this book.
Bonus question! When and where do you normally write?
As I’m a freelance writer as well as a children’s author, some days I feel like I never leave my keyboard. I usually start writing after I’ve had my morning cup of tea and often keep going until dinnertime or beyond. But that’s okay because I love what I do! I’m fortunate to have an office dedicated to my writing with packed bookshelves on one wall and huge windows on the other.
How can people get in touch with you or follow you on social media?
I’m most active on Bluesky (@stephaniegibeault.bsky.social) and Instagram (@stephanie_gibeault). People can also find me on LinkedIn (Stephanie Gibeault). The best way to get in touch is through my website stephaniegibeault.com.
Thank you for stopping by to answer some questions about your new book!
Check out the other author interviews I’ve shared so far with Teri Drobnick and Jessica Fries-Gaither.
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