From fur to feathers: Panama City Beach author pens pet-themed children's book with bonus song

AI-assisted summary
• Panama City Beach musician Dave Schwartz wrote a children's book titled "People Have Pets."
• The book, inspired by Dr. Seuss, highlights the diversity of pets.
• "People Have Pets" includes a QR code linking to a song by Schwartz.

Panama City Beach musician and songwriter Dave Schwartz has taken his creativity from the stage to the page with his children's book "People Have Pets."

Originally written some 20 years ago for a niece, the picture book reflects the '86 Bay High graduate's love for Doctor Seuss.

The book's idea is to illustrate to children that family pets, much like people, come in all shapes and sizes.

"Almost like sitting on a park bench and people-pet watching," Schwartz said about the amusement of pet varieties.

And if people-pet watching wasn't fun enough, "People Have Pets" has a QR code at the end of the story that takes the reader to a song composed by the author.

The book is illustrated by Andres Cornejo, who cleverly references George Orwell's "Animal Farm," and E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web," when the storyline talks about farm animals and spiders, Schwartz said.

Even though the picture book is geared for 3- to 8-year-olds, words matter.

"I wanted to write a story that (felt) like you were talking to this person, this child, and it had adult words in it … nothing too ridiculous, but, you know, real words," Schwartz said referring to the way society sometimes oversimplifies communication with children. "But I certainly wanted the book to be something that treated kids like young human beings and not just children."

In the end, Schwartz said he hopes "People Have Pets" brings adults and children closer together because "kids … everybody loves a story."

For more information about the book, go to https://mascotbooks.com/product/people-have-pets.