Folk Songstress Tia McGraff Sends Her Shelter Husky On A Brand New Adventure Book In ‘In Your Dreams, Jake’
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Not long ago, Jake was waiting in an animal shelter in Nashville, Tennessee. Today the Husky rides shotgun on tour with two of Canada’s most celebrated folk musicians, and now he’s the star of his own book series. ‘In Your Dreams, Jake: The Trail Goes On,’ the second middle grade novel from singer, songwriter and author Tia McGraff, is out now, and it’s a warm, funny and heart tugging story about friendship, courage and following your dreams.
Jake has grown up a lot since the first book. He’s even conquered his fear of creepy crawlies. Now he’s been handed the leash of responsibility as full-time Road Dawg for his family of travelling musicians. With advice from his wise older brother Bogey and his sassy feline sister Dottie Lynne, he sets off on the journey of a lifetime: he befriends a gold medal champion Retriever, lands in a dangerous dognapping caper, and becomes an overnight celebrity. But it’s only after he moves to Canada and loses his best friend that Jake learns what “growing tails” really means.
Inspired by McGraff’s real life shelter Husky, the 233-page novel encourages readers to believe in their dreams, find the song in their hearts and follow their Guideposts, one paw print at a time. It’s already earned a five-star seal from Readers’ Favorite, where reviewer Stewart Brian called it “a well-written children’s book that portrays the unique relationship between pets and their owners and how they communicate. This book is a combination of creativity, educational information, and poetry.”
Educators are cheering too. “This would be an invaluable addition to our education system for children from grade three to eight,” says Shari Cann, editor, education specialist, and trustee for the Grand Erie District School Board. “Every chapter contains a life lesson.”
So, who is the woman behind Jake? Tia McGraff’s star took off when she won the Canadian Open Country Singing Contest at 19. Soon the small-town singer from the north shore of Lake Erie was making TV appearances with Johnny Cash and June Carter, writing and recording with Randy Bachman and Dan Hill, placing songs with Anne Murray’s publishing company and singing the national anthem for the Toronto Blue Jays, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Nashville Sounds.
In Nashville, she met and married Colorado native Tommy Parham, whose song “Rocks You Can’t Move” became a hit for Lee Greenwood. The two broke their rule of never dating a co-writer and have been touring the world together ever since, earning comparisons to a modern-day Johnny Cash and June Carter. They’ve released more than 11 international albums, hosted coveted 9 p.m. songwriter rounds at Nashville’s famous Bluebird Café, and headlined main stage festivals in Canada, the United States, the U.K. and Wales alongside Steve Earle, Joan Baez, Ashley MacIsaac, Sylvia Tyson, Fred Penner and Valdy.
The accolades keep coming. McGraff has won Social Justice and Peace Songs of the Year at the 2021 and 2022 EmPower Songwriting Awards, along with a Hamilton Music Award and ISSA honours, and was a semi-finalist in the 2026 International Songwriting Competition. Her song “All of Us,” co-written with U.K. songwriter Henry Priestman, was played for the Pope and thousands of pilgrims at World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. This year, her hometown inducted her into the Norfolk Music Hall of Fame alongside Rory Dodd and Ian Bell, and her children’s single “Caterpillar Song” was added to CBC Kids radio.
The Jake the Road Dawg series has also become a force for good, raising funds and awareness for the local chapter of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, the Niagara Falls Humane Society and numerous animal rescues. The books include original songs by McGraff and Parham and inspired their live children’s show, Songs’n’Tails, which brings music, storytelling and Jake’s adventures to libraries, bookstores and community spaces across Ontario. The couple has performed on the main stage of the Telling Tales Festival in Burlington, Ontario two years in a row, and Jake’s story has even travelled across the ocean to the Nairn Book Festival in Nairn, Scotland.
From a Nashville shelter to the pages of his own adventure, Jake has proven that sometimes everything you’ve been searching for is right there in your dreams.
Tia McGraff Tour Dates:
October 24 Hamilton, ON @ West Flamboro Presbyterian Church (2 p.m.)
October 30 Simcoe, ON @ Riversyde 83 (7 p.m.)
October 31 Waterloo, ON @ Indigo Conestoga Mall (Songs’n’Tails, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
November 5 Simcoe, ON @ Holy Trinity Catholic High School (Norfolk Music Hall of Fame, 7 p.m.)
November 15 Brucefield, ON @ Brucefield Community United Church (Benefit Concert, 2 p.m.)
November 22 Delhi, ON @ Delhi United Church (2 p.m.)
November 29 Aylmer, ON @ Saxonia Hall (Christkindl Market, 1 p.m.)
December 6 Hamilton, ON @ Coles Limeridge Mall (Author Signing, 11 a.m.)
December 12 Simcoe, ON @ Woodhouse United Church (Annual Christmas Concert, 2 p.m.)
December 13 Cayuga, ON @ Ruthven Park National Historic Site (Christmas Concert, 2 p.m.)
December 20 Niagara Falls, ON @ Niagara Falls Public Library (11:30 a.m.)
January 23, 2027 Cambridge, ON @ Indigo Cambridge (Author Event, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.)
February 6, 2027 Brantford, ON @ Coles Lynden Park (Author Signing, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.)
March 27, 2027 Welland, ON @ Coles Seaway Mall (Author Signing, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.)
April 10, 2027 Simcoe, ON @ St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church (2 p.m.)
April 17, 2027 Barrie, ON @ Indigo Georgian Mall (Songs’n’Tails, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.)
