From the day I met Bodhi the puppy at Savage River Lodge in Western Maryland, I knew I’d found my muse. And from the day Bodhi first saw my camera lens pointed at him, he seemed to know his calling in life: photographer’s model and ham extraordinaire.

Bodhi made his first published appearance in Bodhi the Lodge Dog a coffee table book. But coffee table books mostly attract adults. What about the children waiting to fall in love with Bodhi?

I turned to the creative forces at Accent Interactive with a challenge: Find within my mountain of Bodhi photos an irresistible story for kids.

Before long, a lonely Bodhi emerged who yearned for friends and found them in the Friendly Forest surrounding the lodge. Next to surface was Bodhi the Christmas elf, dressed for the occasion and eager to help with holiday preparations, including a crisis or two. I was grateful to see my colleagues falling under Bodhi’s spell.

Whenever I had imagined Bodhi’s face in a children’s book, that face was on paper. But a collaborative creative spark sent us in a different direction: digital book publishing. Seeing children in airports and restaurants, sliding their fingers across iPads as they read their favorite books, showed me that eBooks were catching on. Then I learned we could add sound effects (screeching eagles! rumbling snow plows!) and a narration. Once I heard the voices of children reading the book to me—especially the voice of Bodhi—I was a convert to read aloud iBooks.

Learn more about the Bodhi eBooks for kids.