Toby's Story (A Puppy Tale #5)

by W Bruce Cameron (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: A Puppy Tale
Meet Toby--a very special dog with a very important purpose--featured in A Dog's Journey, the basis for the major motion picture! Young readers will love this story in the popular A Dog's Purpose Puppy Tales series by bestselling author W. Bruce Cameron.Toby is a beagle who doesn't seem to have a purpose. While all of his littermates are adopted right away, Toby is left behind because he's not as energetic as they are. But because he is so quiet, he is adopted by a girl named Mona and her mother, who works at a nursing home. As Toby comforts the residents of the home, he discovers that his purpose may be the most important of all! Toby's Story is another uplifting tale of the bond that exists between humans and their cherished animal companions. 
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School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-This addition to the "A Dog's Purpose Puppy Tales" series is told from the perspective of Toby, a beagle who is trying to figure out his purpose. His littermates were adopted, but Toby was left behind because he doesn't like to run and chase like the other pups. Due to his quiet nature, he is adopted by Mona and her mother, Patsy, who works in a nursing home. Mona plans to train him to be a therapy dog. Toby starts his time at the nursing home quietly, but after a trip to the vet resolves a health issue, he starts to run and chase like the beagle that he is, getting him in trouble with Patsy's boss. When he's not causing trouble, Toby makes connections with the residents including Dorothy, who throws him a ball, and Grandad, whose grandson Trent runs with Toby. While Cameron does a good job of showing how dogs can provide comfort to elderly patients, readers will need to suspend disbelief, as the portrayal of how a dog would be trained to work in a nursing home is unrealistic. VERDICT A heartwarming tale for animal lovers and fans of the "A Dog's Purpose" series.-Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga Public Library System, OH

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"A heartwarming tale for animal lovers and fans of the 'A Dog's Purpose' series." —School Library Journal

"Middle grade students who love animals will enjoy Bailey's character.... Readers will laugh out loud at his antics and feel tears in their eyes.... Overall, this is a very heartwarming story." —VOYA on Bailey's Story

"Ellie's view of the world is spot-on, feeling just like the thoughts dogs must have.... A satisfying and illuminating tale." —Kirkus Reviews on Ellie's Story

"Ellie's Story is heartwarming and suspenseful.... A fine read for young animal lovers." —School Library Journal on Ellie's Story

W Bruce Cameron
W. BRUCE CAMERON is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dog's Purpose, A Dog's Journey, A Dog's Way Home, and A Dog's Promise; the Puppy Tales and Dogs with a Purpose books for young readers, and the Lily to the Rescue chapter books. He lives in California.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780765394989
Lexile Measure
610
Guided Reading Level
S
Publisher
MacMillan Children's Books
Publication date
May 07, 2019
Series
A Puppy Tale
BISAC categories
JUV002190 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Pets
JUV002070 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dogs
JUV002370 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Baby Animals
Library of Congress categories
Human-animal relationships
Dogs
Working dogs
Beagle (Dog breed)
Human animal relationships

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