Author's biography
Blind from birth, Clélia Hardou taught French for thirty-five years. A boarder from six to 14 years old at the Montclair Institute in Angers, France, she learned among other disciplines Braille, typing and piano. From a young age, she developed a marked taste for autonomy and forged a real trooper personality. At 15, she entered high school in a normal school environment, passed her baccalaureate with honours, and enrolled in hypokhâgne to prepare for a degree in modern literature. With the help of her white cane, she left Anjou, France, at the age of 24, her diploma in her pocket, to take advantage of Paris and its professional opportunities. While undertaking a training offered by the Valentin Haüy Association (AVH), she met the man who would become the man of her life, a very visually impaired Hungarian political refugee. Together they shared a small maid's room in the 6th arrondissement of the French capital. She landed on her first job at the age of 25 as a French teacher for visually impaired people, thanks to the support of the Group of Blind and Amblyopic Intellectuals. Shortly after, the AVH offered her the same job on a permanent basis. She stayed there until her retirement and went there every day, by metro, accompanied by her guide dog. A mother of a boy, she is now learning to be a grandmother, while working with Nitro, her third four-legged friend.

Synopsis
Bengy, Poona and Dune are three dogs in the Edi Pop family. Certified "guide dogs for the blind", they obtained their status after a long period of training. In addition to the fifty words of human vocabulary that they master, they are able to think calmly to find a solution, whatever the problems they encounter. In this novel where each dog speaks from its own perspective: their confidence shows us how far canine education has been refined over three generations – well beyond the romantic and fanciful images we may have. With sensibility, this novel allows us to discover a whole world often unknown to the general public, delighting both young and adult readers. More than a novel, Not So Beast pays tribute to all guide dogs and dedicated educators, foster families and volunteers. 

The cover design was drawn by Célia Papone, 12..