Summer McKinny, 2025 Girl of the Year, is a dog lover and baker who turns her two passions into a business of her own. She starts a dog-walking and treat-making business and wants to donate some of her profits to the shelter where she adopted her dog, Crescent. To earn even more money for the shelter, Summer enters a local youth entrepreneur fair in hopes of winning a cash prize. But when a feisty feline named Fettuccine joins the family, Summer has to put business on the back burner and help the animals in her home get along.
What Summer teaches girls
Summer turns an idea into a real business! She gains important financial experience and uses some of her earnings to support a cause she cares about. Her story teaches girls these important lessons:
Work through obstacles
When Summer decides to add homemade dog treats to her business model, she starts making more money. She also has more to do! And when Fettuccine moves in, everyone has to learn how to get along. Summer shows girls how to solve problems with creativity, empathy, and logic. She thinks through each issue, considers the people (and animals) her decisions affect, gets advice from the adults she trusts, and makes informed decisions.
Treat pets and people as individuals
When Fettuccine moves in, Summer discovers that living with a cat is not the same as living with a dog. And as she takes on new clients, Summer finds that every dog has different needs. By taking her time to get to know each individual animal, she creates stronger bonds. (Psst . . . this works with people, too!)
Be patient
When Summer gets an idea, she goes for it, but she can get frustrated when it doesn’t turn out the way she planned or when obstacles appear. Working with animals teaches Summer patience and rewards her with trust and friendship.
Meet the author
Clare Hutton grew up in Columbia, Maryland, with a dog, two cats, several goldfish, a hermit crab, and an older brother and sister. She now lives with her family in an apartment in Queens, New York, where, unfortunately, pets are not allowed, so she frequently borrows her friends’ dogs. She has published several books for young readers, writing as both Clare Hutton and Clarissa Hutton.
What was it like creating Summer?
It was really fun! Like Summer, two of my favorite things are baking and animals, so doing research for this book was a total pleasure. I’ve now learned (among other things) the proper way to introduce a dog and a cat, hand signals for dog training, and several recipes for baked treats for cats and dogs! It was also fascinating to become acquainted with a world I hadn’t known much about—kids’ business fairs. These fairs are held all over the country and, by participating in them, young aspiring entrepreneurs have fun learning how to market and sell goods and services they’ve developed.
What would you like readers to know about Summer?
Summer adores animals, and she cares a lot about the people in her life. But people—and pets—don’t always get along. Relationships take work, and that isn’t always easy. Summer makes mistakes (especially as she learns to live with a cat) or loses her temper (particularly with her big sister, Holly). While Summer’s not perfect, she is willing to admit when she’s wrong, talk about her feelings, and do what it takes to get a friendship back on track. I hope that girls will recognize their own relationships in the ones that Summer values and realize that they too can resolve conflicts just as she does.
What is your favorite part of Summer's story?
I love Summer’s strong connection to animals. In addition to having pets of her own, she runs a dog-walking business and volunteers at the local animal shelter. Not only does she look out for the well-being of all the animals in her care, she has a lot of fun with them, too. I loved bringing the animal characters to life, from Crescent’s progress with training, to the different dog antics at the park, to writing about Fettuccine’s mischief. All of those encounters allowed me to show elements of Summer’s personality, too.
Creating Summer
Katie Flory has worked for the Maryland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for 18 years. In her current role as the Community Care and Advocacy Director, she analyzes and advocates for legislation affecting animal welfare. She also presents educational programs on animal safety and welfare to local schools and community groups.
Janear Garrus is an educator and the founder of Chesapeake Educational Alliance (CHEDA), a company that creates and implements programming to enrich students in technology, digital media, and entrepreneurship. Through CHEDA, Janear directs and operates the Baltimore and Howard County Children’s Business Fairs, and Greater Purpose Christian Homeschoolers.
Both Katie and Janear took part in manuscript reviews to ensure every detail was represented with accuracy and authenticity.
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