When four-year-olds in Topanga whisper, “Mandy’s house burned down in the fi-yer,” they’re not playing pretend. They’re working through real trauma. Since January’s Palisades Fire, which forced evacuations and destroyed about sixty structures in the Topanga community, young children have struggled to make sense of the disruption and loss.
Enter Firehouse Pups to the Rescue! a heartening new picture book by longtime Topanga resident and celebrated author-illustrator Lisa Desimini. Out May 20 from Christy Ottaviano Books (Little Brown Books for Young Readers), it’s a warm, action-packed story about four brave Dalmatian puppies who help their firefighter partners save the day. The book opens a channel for talking about fire or teaching children ages 3 to 6 about first responders and resilience.
“Even kids outside of California are affected by fire now,” Desimini notes. “They need stories that give comfort and help them process their feelings.”
Desimini’s signature style—playful collage mixed with paint, photos, and hand-built textures—brings Spot, Zippy, Wink, and Pip vividly to life. With diverse human characters, and a comforting storyline, the book balances excitement with assurance.
“I knew from my readers’ response to Dot the Fire Dog that a children’s book could be empowering,” says Desimini. “Could help kids feel braver.”
Desimini is no stranger to fire dogs. Her 2001 bestseller Dot the Fire Dog came out just a month after 9/11 and sold over 400,000 copies, thanks in part to a timely segment on a morning talk show. Dot was inspired by her editor’s fire dog-obsessed son and the firefighters at NYC’s Great Jones Street station—who lost nine men on 9/11. Desimini visited the firehouse herself. She left behind signed books and stood outside with others as they sang “Amazing Grace” to grieving fire crews. “It was beautiful and bittersweet,” she says. “That book became a tribute.”
While Dot offered a “sweet day-in-the-life” of a fire dog, Firehouse Pups delivers more action, diversity, and a gentle nudge toward healing. It also continues a long arc of artistic experimentation. Desimini began her career in traditional oil painting. “For the first 13 books, I only used oil,” she recalls. “Then, with My House, I switched to collage and never looked back.”
That leap into mixed media earned her a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year. She collaged everything from autumn leaves to fur, smoke to cinder blocks. Some images were Xeroxed from photos she developed at a Santa Monica one-hour lab (pre-computer). “I love the surprises that come from working with found textures,” she says. “It’s about brain associations. Once the kids realize the ‘foil’ they think they see is really a photo of sunlight on water—they go nuts. Every element,” she says, “carries intention. There’s a synergy when you build with your hands and mind at once.”
Desimini and her husband, photographer Matt Mahurin, collaborated on My Beautiful Child, a meditation on parenthood that Lisa wrote and Matt illustrated. Mahurin famously created the Time cover of Freud, a USPS Alzheimer’s stamp, and a plethora of striking contemporary illustrations, photos, films and music videos. “The idea felt like it came from an unborn child,” she says. Prior to My Beautiful Child, “Matt’s work had been dark and moody. But this book showed a whimsical softness.” It remains their only children’s book collaboration. Published in English, Korean, and Arabic, My Beautiful Child became a go-to baby shower gift.
Before dedicating herself to children’s books, Desimini worked in editorial illustration. She designed the first cover for Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams, followed by The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven.
“I got into illustration because I loved reading,” she says. “I wanted to illustrate book covers, and articles in magazines. But with children’s books, I found even more creative freedom.”
That freedom includes wildly inventive techniques. For one book of poetry, Love Letters, Desimini used Sculpey to make 3D images inspired by baking bread at the chef’s program at Natural Gourmet Cooking School in New York City. “After three days of baking I was over the moon,” she laughs. “It all came together in Love Letters—food, art, storytelling.”
Now in her Topanga studio, surrounded by paper scraps, photo prints, and her cats Buddhabear and Babygirl, Desimini continues exploring. Whether she’s evoking a sunrise in My House or creating a circus for traveling fleas in The Fleatastics, her goal is the same: connection. “I love stories that work on two levels,” she says. “Kids enjoy them at face value. Adults see a deeper meaning.”
In today’s publishing landscape—where children’s books face frequent challenges and bans—Desimini’s art stands out for its empathy, inclusiveness, and emotional intelligence. Her publisher, an imprint of Hachette, champions books that entertain while expanding hearts and minds. “Explore new worlds. Expand your horizons. Read banned books,” their campaign declares.
With Firehouse Pups to the Rescue! Desimini invites readers young and old to do just that. And in the process, she reminds us that even after smoke and ashes, something bright can grow again. Pre-order Firehouse Pups to the Rescue! wherever books are sold or at hachettebookgroup.com. Take a look at Lisa Desimini’s art at lisadesimini.com.
