ABC Dogs with Jane Kunzman

Join us for a tail-wagging nonchalance story time and coloring activity with Jane Kunzman!

ABC Dogs Book is a bautifully illustrated sketchbook- highlighting an alphabet of dog breeds from A is for Alaskan Malamute to Z is for Zuchon.

About Jane Kunzman

Jane Kunzman has over 18 years as a holistic art educator. She has a Master’s in Art and Art Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College and received her undergraduate training in Communication Design at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She formerly taught Art at the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Jane’s art has appeared in dozens of galleries including The Park Avenue Club, Florham Park, NJ; Macy Gallery, Columbia University, NYC; and Riverside Gallery, Pottersville, NJ. Jane currently lives in Califon, New Jersey with her husband, Steve. Jane and Steve have four adult children who talk endlessly about their dogs.

About ABC Dogs 

As a middle school art teacher, I am always looking for ways to lead students to respect and honor each other. This summer, I set out to produce a visual story to help students – and even people of all ages – understand that everyone is equal and that we should treat one another as such. Inspired by conversation over the years with friends, family, and colleagues, it dawned on me that when it comes to the pets in our lives, we are able to provide unconditional love and respect to these animals, which often doesn’t translate to the people we interact with or encounter on a regular basis.

After crowd sourcing ideas from social media to decide which dogs to illustrate, I created a 32- page children's book, ABC Dogs, an A-B-C of dog breeds as a tool to create an entry point for discussions about inclusion and diversity with students. No one dog is better than another dog and I believe that the love we have for our dogs, and the tail-wagging nonchalance they have for each other, has the potential to open a conversation about diversity.

ABC Dogs recalls the simple drawings of the books from which I learned to read as a child. ABC Dogs was hand drawn using Copic Markers for a flat, clean look and was printed on Strathmore papers so that one might imagine these pages are fresh off my sketchpad. Finally, the binding was sewn along the full length of the spine with a fresh blue color thread, creating a hand crafted and secure feeling when turning the pages.