Teddy, The Most Beautiful Boy in the World is a new children’s picture book about a greyhound called Teddy who believes he’s the most beautiful boy in the world. Then Teddy discovers he has a long, pointy nose, a skinny body, and a bald bum. Can Teddy learn that everyone is beautiful just the way we are? The story explores themes of family, friendship, self-esteem and belonging. It shows children the importance of seeing that everyone is different, beauty is different to everyone and valuing their difference. The story is based on author Kylie Miller’s experience with an adopted greyhound called Teddy. Readers first met Teddy in Albert, The Greyhound Who Loves To Run, also by Kylie Miller and Karen Erasmus.
Kylie Miller is an award-winning journalist and communications consultant. After trading the city life for a tree change in East Gippsland, Kylie experienced first-hand the devastating bushfires of the 2019-20 Australian summer. Her first children’s picture book, Heroes of Black Summer, co-written by Craig Sheather and illustrated by Karen Erasmus, was published by Australian Geographic in 2021. It tells stories of heroism, courage, resilience, and generosity as the community recovered from the disaster, giving children a tool to help process the trauma. Kylie has since written a series of childrens picture books focusing on greyhounds. Kylie lives by the Gippsland Lakes with her partner, Brett, adopted greyhounds Teddy and Dotty, and a 17-year-old cat called Molly. Molly is the boss of them all. Karen Erasmus is an artist, illustrator and designer working in a beautiful bayside town near Melbourne, Australia. Her illustrations and designs focus on colour, character and story. She has been illustrating for publishers and businesses since 2011.
* Teddy, The Most Beautiful Boy in the World explores themes of family, friendship, self-esteem and belonging. It shows children the importance of seeing that beauty is different in everyone and to value their difference. * Teddy’s story will appeal to dog owners, including the thousands of Australians who have greyhounds as pets. * There is strong demand for children’s picture books featuring greyhounds, and very few books are in the market. A growing interest in greyhound adoption drives this demand, with thousands of greyhounds adopted by Australian households each year. Nearly 3000 greyhounds were rehomed in Victoria alone in 2020-21 – a record high. Third-party rehoming groups and the racing industry support greyhound adoption and attract passionate followings on social media. For example, the Victorian Greyhound Adoption Program, which promotes the breed as pets, has 58,000 followers on its Facebook page and received nearly 22 million impressions in 2020-21. The organisation’s Instagram page received 4.8 million impressions. Publicity: * National marketing and communications plan, including a focus on greyhound adoption agencies, general pet rescue agencies, greyhound racing clubs and the greyhound industry. * Stakeholders, including adoption agencies and the industry, to be sent communications materials, including the book’s cover image and social media templates, to share with their networks. * Social media campaign, with information about the book widely distributed via greyhound-themed social media groups. * Mainstream media campaign, including nationally distributed media release. * Kylie Miller to share the real-life story of Teddy, the real-life greyhound character in the book. Teddy was introduced in Kylie’s first greyhound book, Albert, The Greyhound Who Loves To Run. * Regional launch event, supported by a book shop and regional library.
