Photos by Dan Dion ’92 shape a heartwarming tale in Tuesday Tucks Me In—told from a Golden Retreiver’s point of view.
Photos by Dan Dion ’92 shape a heartwarming tale in Tuesday Tucks Me In—told from a Golden Retreiver’s point of view.
Dog and soldier are at the heart of Tuesday Tucks Me In, a canine-for-kids picture book that tackles post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury. The tale, from a Golden Retriever’s point of view, is built around charming photos by Dan Dion ’92. Tuesday introduces children to his owner, Luis Carlos Montalván, who served multiple tours of duty in Iraq. Montalván previously teamed up with writer Bret Witter (Monuments Men) on the best-selling memoir Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him. Now, for younger readers, the pooch Tuesday narrates a day navigating New York City.
There is waking (“I even sleep with him, which helps control his nightmares”) and fetching socks (“And shoes. With just a bit of slobber”). There’s a visit to the hospital and a ride on the subway. And there are themes rarely seen in children’s books.
This one earned a spot on Amazon as Best Children’s Nonfiction Book of 2014. As a project, it’s a bit of a departure for photographer Dion; for two decades he was house photographer for San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore. Dion also loves comedy—something that was nurtured during his days at SCU. He lays claim to being the world’s most prolific portrait photographer of comedians; some of that fine work appears in his previous book, ¡Sataristas!