Country music icon and literacy activist Dolly Parton’s beloved pooch returns in Billy the Kid Comes Home for Christmas, a new standalone sequel picture book from Penguin Workshop. Cowritten with Erica S. Perl and illustrated by MacKenzie Haley, the holiday tale is set to release on October 1.
Readers were first introduced to the titular French bulldog in Parton’s 2023 picture book Billy the Kid Makes It Big, another collaboration with Perl and Haley. For the follow-up, Parton pulled inspiration from her holiday hit “Comin’ Home for Christmas” for Billy’s next adventure.
“I always love celebrating Christmas with my family and of course my god-dog Billy,” Parton said in a statement. “Since he’s a big star now, he deserves his own holiday special!”
In Billy the Kid Comes Home for Christmas, an opportunity to play with his band on Christmas Day conflicts with spending quality time with his family and leads Billy to consider what is most important to him.
Francesco Sedita, president of Penguin Workshop, said, “Dolly is making sure that her beloved god-dog Billy will never have a ‘Hard Candy Christmas.’ This book is pure holiday joy, and we hope that families will enjoy it for generations to come.”
