Writing about Animals (and living with them!) : Harry the Rescue Dog’s Rainbow Street Blog
![]() |
Emma Homes & Wendy Orr, Little Bookroom |
I met Emma Homes last year at the awards night for the Environment Award for Children’s Literature. She is the author of three ebooks for children aged 9 – 11, including ‘The vanishing frogs of Cascade Creek’, which had been shortlisted for the same category as Rescue on Nim’s Island.
All her stories so far feature animals as important supporting characters, and so I invited her to talk about them in this Rainbow Street Pets thread.

Emma says:”There are animals I’ve known and loved, but never met. Some lived and died long before I was even born. Their antics and escapades have haunted my life, in the best possible way, as the pets and companions who inhabit my family stories.

Another animal friend from my mother’s childhood who is remembered decades later with warm smiles was Ricky, on overactive and very spoilt fox terrier. When taken for a walk, Ricky would strain at the leash and walk on his two hind legs, so that my soft-hearted mother and her brothers were persuaded to take Ricky around the block at a quick run.

Now I share these stories, and some wonderful animal characters from my own childhood, with my kids. They like to hear about Ronnie, the fat, pretty Welsh mountain pony, who changed colour with the seasons, from a shaggy roan in winter to a glossy pearl grey in summer. I always felt that relaxing my grip on the reins was like dropping anchor; in moments, Ronnie would have lowered his head and began munching at the sea of green Gippsland grass.
Wendy Orr is a Canadian-born Australian writer. Her books for children and adults have been published in 27 countries and won awards around the world. Nim’s Island and Nim at Sea have also become feature films, starring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin (Nim’s Island) and Bindi Irwin (Return to Nim’s Island.) Her latest book is Cuckoo’s Flight, a companion to the highly acclaimed Bronze Age novels Dragonfly Song and Swallow’s Dance. Read full bio