Susan Meddaugh, author of the very fun kids' book series "Martha Speaks," is coming to the Twin Cities. She'll be reading and drawing at the Red Balloon bookstore on Grand Avenue in St. Paul at 2pm Saturday.

Cribsheet: How did you come up with the idea for a dog that speaks?
Susan Meddaugh: I wish I could take credit for that idea, but it was straight from the imaginative mind of my seven year old son, Niko. He was eating alphabet soup for lunch. Our dog, Martha, took up her usual position by his side, as close to the soup as possible without breaking the laws of physics. (Martha was a stray who never forgot her early lost and hungry days.) Niko said, "Mom, if Martha dog ate alphabet soup, would she speak?" He was kidding, but the image of Martha's brain full of alphabet soup letters appeared instantly in my brain. This was the idea I had been hoping would find me because this wonderful interesting dog deserved her own story.

Cribsheet: Tell me about Martha.
Meddaugh: Martha and her friends Skits, Burt, Cisco, and John are some of the dogs from my family. Martha was our very first dog. She was a stray, and when my husband and I first saw her, she was an incredibly skinny and sad looking dog, and there was a record number of fleas riding on her back. There were a few bumpy moments when we brought her home, but we soon began to recognize her wonderful qualities. Martha was feisty, intelligent, beautiful, interesting, and best of all, drawable.

Cribsheet: We discovered Martha a year or two ago at a toy store in southern Minnesota called Lark Toys. We bought "Martha Calling" and "Martha Blah blah." My daughters, 4 and 6, love the stories. So do I. The boss of the alphabet soup company gets rid of a few alphabets to cut costs and Martha ends up talking gibberish? Did you ever think about it as a metaphor for journalism in America?
Meddaugh: I actually hadn't thought about BLAH BLAH that way. But after the book came out, I did get a call from the Wall Street Journal. Had someone in my family been laid off, and was that the inspiration for the story? This was quite a while back, before changes in the economic and media landscapes.

Cribsheet: Are you working on another Martha book? What's it about?
Meddaugh: We have a number of new books inspired by Martha's adventures on the PBS KIDS series coming out including A Pup's Tale about Martha's early days.

Cribsheet: Is Martha still around?
Meddaugh: Sadly Martha passed away, but she had a great life - from stray to star. For me, her books and her television series keep her memory alive, and she just keeps on talking!

Cribsheet: So what brings you in town?
Meddaugh: I'm here for a reading and illustration session with kids at the Red Balloon bookstore at 2pm on Saturday. On Sunday, I will be at a private conference with Intermountain Therapy Animals' Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) program. The program works to enhance children's reading skills by having them read to therapy dogs, and is partnered with Martha Speaks.

You can also watch Martha Speaks on PBS Kids. The third season of Martha Speaks premiers with "The Martha Show" on Monday, October 11 on TPT and kids can watch episodes weekdays at 7:30am and 4:00pm, Wed-Fri at 3:30pm, and Sat at 6:30am. Check out games and activities for kids on the show's website.