Creator Corner: Author Stephanie Gibeault and Illustrator Bambi Edlund
Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses author Stephanie Gibeault and illustrator Bambi Edlund, whose book published March 18, 2025!
Owlkids Books: Stephanie, what inspired you to write this book?
Stephanie Gibeault: I was inspired to write Dogs vs. Humans after years of working as a certified professional dog trainer. Many of my clients viewed their dogs as small, furry humans and interpreted their behavior through that lens. But dogs do all kinds of strange things, like sniffing fire hydrants or eating garbage, because they perceive the world in their own doggy way. I wanted to share that canine point of view with young readers.
Owlkids Books: Bambi, what was the inspiration for your illustrations in this book?
Bambi Edlund: I love dogs, and I love drawing them, so inspiration wasn’t difficult for this one. Several of the dogs in the book are dogs I know in real life … and a few of the humans too!
OKB: Stephanie, what was the most enjoyable part of bringing this story to life? What was the most challenging part of the process?
SG: The most enjoyable part of creating Dogs vs. Humans was the word play. Brainstorming puns about the senses and writing silly jokes was great. I want kids to have as much fun reading the book as I did writing it. The most challenging part was ensuring I kept the science at the right level for the audience. I needed to scaffold the facts with what kids already know so they can follow along and learn something new.
OKB: Bambi, what was the most enjoyable part of illustrating this book? What was the most challenging part?
BE: Dogs being bratty is one of my all-time favorite things to draw, and I had some fun opportunities with this book! The most challenging part was trying to show how dogs and humans perceive things differently, in a way that clearly illustrated and helped explain the facts in the text.
OKB: Stephanie, what’s your favorite fact in this book?
SG: My favorite fact in the book is that dogs’ snouts have heat-seeking superpowers. The bare skin on a dog’s nose can sense the faint body heat given off by people or other animals from five feet (1.5 meters) away! That gives dogs a definite advantage over us in the sense of touch round of the competition.
OKB: Bambi, what’s your favorite fact in this book?
BE: There are so many interesting ones! But I think the one that I found most fascinating was the difference between how dogs and humans see at a distance.
OKB: Stephanie, what do you hope readers will take away from this book?
SG: This book is about how dogs and humans view the world in their own unique ways. And in fact, each person does too. I hope readers come to appreciate those differences and therefore develop understanding and empathy for other points of view. I also think if we can learn to value our dogs’ perspective, we can become better stewards for their care.
OKB: Bambi, what do you hope readers will take away from this book?
BE: I hope readers will look at dogs a little differently when they see them out in the world, and feel like they understand their pets better after reading this book. I know I do!
OKB: Stephanie, what’s an interesting fact people may not know about you?
SG: My dog Chi Chi and I earned his Advanced Trick Dog title. He needed to learn over 25 different tricks to qualify such as jumping through my arms, walking backwards, pushing a barrel with his two front paws, and weaving through my legs. We used positive training methods so he loved learning all those new behaviors.
OKB: Bambi, what’s an interesting fact people may not know about you?
BE: I make needle-felted wool dog sculptures, mainly Bernese Mountain Dogs but other breeds as well. I have made over a thousand of them!
Thank you so much Stephanie and Bambi for taking the time to do this interview and creating a wonderful book! We hope readers enjoy Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses as much as we did!
Grab your copy today!
