Behind the story
The inspiration
The idea for a book about Ella was inspired by the real-life adventures of my adorable dog — a gentle, playful pup who stole my heart one Christmas Day. From the moment she arrived, Ella settled in beautifully with her two older fur-sisters, Tilly and Callie, becoming an instant part of our family. My friends and family adore all three, along with our little parrot, Raj, who greets Ella every morning with cheerful calls.
Unlike her older sisters, Ella prefers to stay indoors, making it easy to observe and capture her charming quirks, playful tricks, and surprisingly human-like habits. Over time, these moments became the heart of her story.
The very first idea to turn Ella’s adventures into a book came from a simple wish — to create a lasting gift for my nieces and nephews, preserving the dog who taught them to love and care for animals.
At its core, Ella’s Bedtime — like the books to follow — celebrates the small, meaningful moments: the comfort of routines, the joy of favourite toys, and the warmth of love, all seen through the eyes of a lovable little dog.
The author
Sonia K. Sagoo is a first-time author and creative professional, born in Kenya, and based in Australia.
Sonia grew up with many dogs and a couple of parrots, and has always had a deep love for each of them. Ella is her youngest dog, and she believes they share a soul-defining connection.
Drawing from her background in brand creation and storytelling—and inspired by her real-life dog, Ella—Sonia writes to nurture imagination, comfort, and connection in young readers.
Ella’s Bedtime is her debut title in a planned series celebrating simple joys and gentle routines.
Creating the book
What began as a simple story soon evolved into a creative journey of illustration—capturing Ella’s charm in a way that brings reality into a child’s hands. Each illustration of Ella is directly based on real photographs, from her stretches and yawns to searching for toys, picking them up, and giving her sweet little ‘boops.’
While the scenes aren’t exact replicas of real life, they are inspired by Ella’s home in Kenya, including the rooms, decorations and artwork, the lush garden and starlit sky. Every illustration was carefully built through layered artwork, blending my attention to detail with advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and nearly a year of training custom AI models to achieve an authentic, lively feel. The illustrations aim to bring Ella's world to life in an authentic and lively way!
Each book in the series is designed to be both heartfelt and interactive, featuring a hidden character on every page — a playful nod to Ella’s real-life companions: Tilly, Callie, Raj, my nieces and nephews, birds in the garden, and even the occasional gecko she loves to chase.
This touch of discovery encourages children to immerse themselves in Ella's world, inviting children to engage more deeply with the story, turning bedtime into a soothing yet playful experience that they’ll want to revisit again and again.
