When Joanna Gruda was asked about the incredible story of her father, Julek, she used to answer: "Well, we better sit down, this is going to be long and complicated ...". She was convinced that he, the Polish boy who was born in Soviet Moscow a few days after the crac of 29 and was forced to adopt multiple identities to survive the Stalinist purges and the persecution of Jews and communists during World War II, He would finally write his memoirs, but who knows why, he decided not to. So one good day he sat down was Julek, but not before placing a tape recorder on the table with the simple purpose of transcribing his experiences for family use and enjoyment. After a time of maturation and quiet writing, the result of those conversations that lasted for months was The boy who knew how to speak the language of dogs, his first novel.

Joanna Gruda arrived in Canada by boat when she was only two years old in the company of her parents, disenchanted with communism. She has worked as a theater actress for many years and makes a living as a translator. Definitely, The child who knew how to speak the language of dogs will not be read only by Julek's children and grandchildren. Published in Canada in February 2013, in 2014 it has won the Emerging Readers Award from the Abitibi- Témiscamingue region. Their translation rights have been sold in Holland, Poland, Italy, the United States, Great Britain, Brazil, Turkey, China and Spain. And everything seems to indicate that this has only just begun. Not surprisingly, this little great story has been compared to works of universal scope such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Life is Beautiful and The Book Thief.