Toby - Hardcover

Wild, Margaret

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395670241 ISBN 13: 9780395670248

Publisher: Ticknor & Fields, 1994

Synopsis

Sara and her younger brothers all have their own ways of handling the increasing age and infirmity of their beloved dog, Toby.

About this title

About the Author:

Margaret Wild is a children's book editor as well as an acclaimed writer for children. She currently lives in Australia.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3-An elderly golden retriever, once Sara's lively and beloved companion, is now listless, smelly, and going blind and deaf. Instead of sympathizing with Toby, as her younger brothers do, the 12-year-old girl angrily rejects him. The boys are appalled, even when their mother explains that Sara is upset because her life is changing so much and she doesn't want Toby to get old and die. Finally, when the dog is so weak that the vet recommends euthanasia the next day, Sara is found holding him lovingly during the night. The realistic watercolor illustrations are surrounded by large white areas that emphasize the skillful rendering of the figures. Toby romps through the happy times when the children are little and then moves stiffly into his old age, his expression bewildered and sorrowful. Both the animal and the humans are beautifully and expressively painted. Sara's rage, although understandable to a degree, is so jolting that the story is actually painful. Hans Wilhelm's I'll Always Love You (Crown, 1988) is also sad and touching, but is more gentle way of treating this subject.
Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ticknor & Fields
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0395670241
• ISBN 13: 9780395670248
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1
• Illustrator: Young Noela