Fiona Wood is an award-winning writer of books for children and teenagers. Her books have been published in Australia and internationally. Today we’re pleased to be talking to Fiona about her latest novel: The Boy and the Dog Tree.
UQP provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of this book.
From the publisher:
Instead of the whole family moving to a new city, Mitch and his sister are staying with their gran, while their parents have been delayed working on other side of the world. Mitch is struggling to fit in at school, with the resident Grade Five bully picking on him. The one thing that would make his life better is a dog, if only he could persuade his parents. Then Mitch discovers an old oak tree that seems to growl. And one night, a huge, strange dog-like creature emerges from the trunk. His name is Argos. He has been bound in the tree by ‘history, mystery, magic and chance’ …
How did you come to write a story about a dog magically entwined with a tree?
A very helpful tree suggested the story to me. I live near a park that has some long avenues of oak trees, and one of these trees has a gnarled and twisted trunk that reminds me of a dog. I started asking myself why a dog might be bound within a tree. By whose magic had the dog been put there? And for what purpose? How did it happen? When did it happen? Chewing over questions is a great way to start building a story.
When you add magic into the everyday world, how do you make it feel believable for readers?
If you introduce a magical creature into a realistic setting, the first task is to make the world seem real. If it does, then by association everything that happens in that world feels real too.
It’s also important that the main character in that world has a believable initial reaction to the magic. So, Mitch finds it hard to believe when a tree seems to be murmuring or growling, and then calling to him in his sleep, and even harder to believe when Argos, a huge magical dog-like creature emerges from the tree. As improbable as it first seems, Mitch does come to believe what he can see with his own eyes. And ideally the reader will believe Mitch.
Other characters’ reactions also support the believability of the magic. For example, Regi, Mitch’s sister, realises that Mitch can hear what Argos is saying, though she cannot. She also notices Argos’s magical smell.
Finally, the magical creature itself must feel real. The writer’s job is to allow readers to imagine what Argos looks like, how he sounds, what sort of personality he has, and how we might react if an Argos came into our life.
Is the park where Mitch visits the dog tree based on a real park?
It is imaginary, but it has elements of a few parks in Melbourne/Naarm including Hedgeley Dene Gardens, Fitzroy Gardens and Fawkner Park.
Did you have a dog when you were growing up? If you did, was it your idea of the perfect dog?
I did not have a dog when I was growing up, and it was a thorn in my side. My brother and I pleaded and complained to my parents for years to no avail. I was allergic to the pet guinea pig offered in substitution. I truly longed for a dog as Mitch does in the story.
So, I made sure my children had a dog growing up. He was a much-loved family member, very far from perfect, quite naughty in fact, but adored by all of us.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?
I’m working on a story that has Mitch’s friend Dido as the main character. In The Boy and the Dog Tree, Argos tells Mitch that Dido is a witch, though she doesn’t know it yet. What would it mean to be a witch in a perfectly ordinary family? How does Dido find out that she is a witch and what might she do with this powerful identity? What are the upsides and downsides of having a particular power? More questions to chew over.
The Boy and the Dog Tree is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.
AWESOME EXTRAS
Read the first chapter of The Boy and the Dog Tree
Do you live in Melbourne? Go to the book launch on 14 March 2026!
Download the Teachers’ Notes for this book
Visit Fiona Wood’s website for more about her and her books
alphabetsoup.net.au 