Broadway Barks

Illustration by Liz Murphy, from Broadway Barks, published by Blue Apple Books

Douglas, a stray pup in New York City, once belonged to a loving family who lived in a high-rise apartment building. But now, for reasons unknown, he makes his lonely home in Central Park—that is, until he meets a kind woman with red corkscrew curls who changes his fortunes. So goes Broadway Barks (Blue Apple, $18; ages 4 to 8), a sweet picture book with collage illustrations by Liz Murphy and text by Bernadette Peters. Yes, that Bernadette Peters.

The theater superstar didn’t have to dig too deeply for motivation. Peters is one of the driving forces behind an annual charity event, also called Broadway Barks, that raises awareness of the plight of shelter animals and matches a few lucky ones with new owners. The songstress, along with cofounder Mary Tyler Moore, rallies local animal lovers in Shubert Alley for one day every summer. Broadway performers pair up with a furry friend and present “their” dog or cat to an audience of potential adopters.

“I never in my wildest imagination thought I would write a children’s book,” says Peters, who has two dogs, both adopted from shelters. “I was approached by the editor, and I said, ‘Yeah, sure!’ We decided it would be about Broadway Barks and my dog Kramer.” The title marks her debut as a children’s-book writer but is also, surprisingly, her first outing as a composer. Peters penned a lullaby that appears at the end of the story, and she sings it on an accompanying CD. A second book is in the works, starring her other dog, a pit bull named Stella.

As for her personal taste in kid-lit, the born-and-bred New Yorker was an early fan of Eloise and Grimms’ fairy tales. She also adored a Hans Christian Andersen story called “The Tinder Box,” which memorably describes a giant guard dog “with eyes as big as saucers.” When told the flame-haired character in Broadway Barks looks vaguely familiar, Peters responds with typical modesty. “She’s so tall and thin—which I’m not,” she says of her literary doppelgänger. “I love it!”

The Broadway Barks event takes place Sat, July 12.