Valerie: Australia’s Bravest Sausage Dog
PUBLISHED BY ALLEN AND UNWIN, FEBRUARY 2026
Inspired by the amazing true story of the tiny dog who captured the heart of a nation
I had so much fun writing and illustrating this book about the darling Valerie, and imagining what she may have got up to in the time she was missing and ‘on the lam’ on Kangaroo Island.
“In this gloriously warm-hearted romp of a picture book, bestselling author and illustrator Lucinda Gifford has imagined Valerie's adventures and brought them to vivid and hilarious life, as she befriends dolphins, eats her fill, and explores the wilds... before finding her way safely home again..”
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“Told in rollicking rhyme in a series of vignettes, Gifford has created the most engaging, uplifting story that will delight readers of all ages and not just because of its happy ending, Little ones can look at the delightful illustrations and tell themselves the story, building up the drama as a wave washes her off the boat that she took refuge on to eat her stolen sausage, and then follow on as her thefts were not restricted to that one escapade, while older readers will LOL at her adventures and perhaps relate to there really being no place like home.”
“Reading Valerie: Australia’s Bravest Sausage Dog with my 5 year old was a delight. Lucinda Gifford has created a wonderfully charming story centred around Valerie, a tiny sausage dog with a very big heart. It’s the kind of book that instantly captures a young child’s imagination while giving parents something meaningful to talk about afterward. Even more special is the fact that the story is based on a true story, which adds an extra layer of heart and meaning to Valerie’s brave adventure.”
“Valerie’s true story is a gift for any children’s book creator and Lucinda does it perfect justice.
It’s hard to imagine a pampered sausage dog surviving in the wild but Valerie managed it easily, something vividly captured in Lucinda’s lively and expressive illustrations. ”
“Gifford has created a lovely, amusing story about a lost dog living in the bush. Kids will adore seeing the little dog surviving and wonder how they may have survived, laughing all the while at Valerie’s antics. ”
What was Valerie really doing on Kangaroo Island while she was away for over 500 days? Here are some holiday snaps!
Here is Valerie ‘chillaxing’ at Walcowrie Luxury Accommodation on Kangaroo Island. I love the look of this bath!
Here’s Valerie exploring the coastal waters with a Kangaroo Island Ocean Safaris tour!
Valerie is enjoying the views from the lighthouse at Flinders Chase!
Photo: vlad-kutepov, Pexels
Here are some of my development sketches and story building process sketches for Valerie (later on I changed her ears, which were a bit long – even for a dachshund!):
Here are some snippets of paintings I made when exploring the light and scenery of Kangaroo Island. Although I’ve spent time on other islands on Australia’s south coast, I haven’t had time to visit Kangaroo Island – which is unique. Making these helped me get a feel for the place. Some are copied from photographs or other paintings of the island, for instance. They’re not great paintings as they’re all about process rather than end product. Also, I’m not a very good painter! But making art is often about understanding and exploring, not just the end result.
Here are some of my rough illustrations when developing the story. Usually, I break the process into stages: text, character design, storyboard, roughs, final illustrations. For this book, I did do that… mostly. But sometimes I was doing everything at once, still tweaking the text as I developed the illustrations. Some of the text on these pictures below is not the final text, for instance. And the layout has changed a little since they were done.
Read the actual, true story of Valerie: her wild 529-day Kangaroo Island adventure, and her amazing rescue here.
And here are some more holiday snaps…
Here’s Valerie exploring the amazing caves at Kelly Hill. Those stalagmites can really tickle the tummy.
Valerie is being a tad presumptuous here at the Emu Bay Lavender Farm, and sampling the lavender honey without asking first…
This is Valerie swimming with dolphins with Kangaroo Island Ocean Safaris. Swimming with dolphins is a good opportunity for a dachshund to practice backstroke.