Big News for Sports Fans and Their Kids

If you’re a Philadelphia sports fan, you know Mike Missanelli, long-time sports radio talk host whose career spans thirty years in print, radio and television. Currently, he is the host of the popular Mike Missanelli Podcast, sponsored by Bet Rivers and available on all podcast networks. You may also know he’s the author of The Perfect Season, a book that detailed Penn State’s last college football national championship in 1986. You may even know that Mike is a dog lover. But what you may not know is that Mike Missanelli is the author of a children’s book, with more on the way! Inspired by his eight-year-old Shiba Inu, The Adventures of Shima the Shiba is Mike’s first children’s book. He will be joining the line-up of children’s authors at the 21st annual Collingswood Book Festival on Saturday, October 7, 2023. He was kind enough to chat with Book Fest organizers.

Collingswood Book Festival: What is the inspiration behind The Adventures of Shima the Shiba?

Mike Missanelli: The inspiration behind Shima the Shiba comes from a simple observation: Shiba Inus are very unique dogs who have almost human facial expressions while seemingly harboring human-like thoughts in their brains. Shibas are really cute medium sized dogs whose looks and actions I thought would resonate well with children. When I looked at my dog, I could almost picture what thoughts she was having. For the text, I thought I could project her thoughts through my brain and that’s how the idea for the book came about. The book takes Shima through the developmental stages -- just like young children -- from a sometimes incorrigible pup, to a dog who grows up, learning valuable behavior lessons. Amongst the lessons are to mind your parents, to follow your dreams, to choose the right companions to hang out with, and to not be afraid of the doctor when the doctor is only trying to help you. For the illustrations, I had asked, through my radio show, for illustrators to send me a sample of their work. I then sent out photos of Shima and asked them how they would portray the images in a sort of cartoon form. A local illustrator named Alex Lee had Shima down cold and I contracted with him to do illustrations based on scenes that I wrote.

CBF: Tell us about Shima. How long has she been with you?

MM: I got her as a puppy and she turned eight years old this past August. The Shiba Inu is a Japanese-bred dog. The name Shima is short for the Japanese word Shimashita, which means “regal.”

CBF: Are Shiba Inus typically known for an abundance of personality?

MM: Yes, Shiba Inus are known for their vibrant energetic personalities and playfulness. They are bred primarily as hunting dogs to ferret out small game such as rabbits and squirrels. They can also be very stubborn dogs who operate on their own agendas. When you call for them, sometimes they will not come, out of defiance. But when you least expect it, they will hop on a chair with you.

CBF: Are you working on a sequel to The Adventures of Shima the Shiba?

MM: I am working on a sequel where I take Shima on a road trip through the United States, stopping at various points of interests, introducing the child reader to those points of interest in their country. After that, I plan to do another Shima book where she takes the reader through Europe and other parts of the world.

CBF: Is there a sports theme running through your children’s books?

MM: There is one sports theme in The Adventures of Shima the Shiba. It is the scene in the book where she urges the reader to follow his or her dreams. I play ball often in the backyard with Shima and she has gotten really good at chasing a rolling baseball, reading the hops of the baseball, and catching it in her mouth like a baseball infielder would scoop up a ground ball. So in the book, I have an illustration of her on a baseball field with humans, flipping a baseball to the shortstop to convert a double play, as the text reads that her dream was always to be a professional baseball player (which also happened to be MY dream. Haha).

CBF: When did you decide to add Children’s Book Author to your resume?

MM: The idea to write a children’s book just happened kind of organically. I was fascinated by Shima’s human-like behavior, so I just thought it would make a good book for young children just learning to read, or younger children needing to be read to. I also thought that the look of the illustrations and the cute appearance of the shiba would appeal to the younger children.

CBF: What do you most enjoy about meeting young readers?

MM: I love the wide-eyed innocence of young readers. I have conducted a few book readings at elementary schools. I love putting emotion in my readings and watching how the youngsters are entertained by the Shima story.

Mike Missanelli is scheduled to read The Adventures of Shima the Shiba in the children’s area at 11 am.
Also, he’ll be sitting down to talk sports and more with Angelo Cataldi at Songbird Karaoke at 3 pm.