Taylor later stated that her childhood ended when she became a star, as MGM started to control every aspect of her life. She described the studio as a "big extended factory", where she was required to adhere to a strict daily schedule: days were spent attending school and filming at the studio lot, and evenings in dancing and singing classes, and in practising the following day's scenes. Following the success of "National Velvet", MGM gave Taylor a new seven-year contract with a weekly salary of $750, and cast her in a minor role in the third film of the Lassie series, "Courage of Lassie" (1946). The studio also published a book of Taylor's writings about her pet chipmunk, "Nibbles and Me" (1946), and had paper dolls and coloring books made after her.