11. The nursing home residents love Toby, and some residents (including Grandad) even exercise more because Toby does Treadmill with them, but Fran still has doubts about Toby. What “compromise” does Fran introduce in Chapter 12? How does this lead to some late-night chaos at the nursing home, including Grandad and Dorothy teaming up to “free” Toby?
12. After the nighttime incident, Fran insists that Toby sleep outside, but he continues to play an important daytime role at the nursing home. How does Toby help Martin in the “Quiet Place,” for example?
13. How does being Trent’s running buddy (when Trent decides to practice separately from his running club for a bit) lead Toby back to his “first home”, the Ranch? When Trent follows Toby to the Ranch, he meets Toby’s former owner Walt. Why is Walt happy to learn from Trent that Toby is “working” at the nursing home?
14. What does Toby finally understand about Lie Still in Chapter 14? Why is it so important for him to know this particular “trick” for his role at the nursing home?
15. In Chapter 15, Trent wins his first cross-country race. How is Toby (unexpectedly) able to support Trent in this event? What sad circumstances overshadow Trent’s victory?
16. In the final chapter, how does Grandad’s situation help Toby finally understand who they both (Grandad and Toby) “belong” to? Did reading this story change how you think about how pets and people love and “belong” to each other?
Post-Reading Activities
Take the story from the page to the pavement with these fun and inspiring activities for the dog lovers in your family.
1. CHANGE YOUR FURSPECTIVE!
Invite your child/children, and interested friends or family members to follow author W. Bruce Cameron’s lead, and visualize the world from a dog (or other pet’s) point of view. Gather markers, crayons, colored pencils, or paints, and white paper or poster board. Each of you can choose a dog or pet, which belongs to your family, or to another friend or relative, and draw or paint a scene (such as, a home/habitat; going for a walk; feeding time; or another pet-person interaction) from that animal’s point of view, keeping in mind the animal’s size, mobility, environment, and how keen or limited its senses are. Compare completed pictures, discussing how each of you envisioned your chosen animal’s view of the world. (If several people drew the same pet, you can consider similarities and differences in the final pictures.) As “artists,” discuss if it was easy or hard to look at the world, and try to represent it, from a different perspective!
2. FOLLOW MY BREED
Each breed has specific characteristics, which can make dogs of that breed more, or less, suited for different families, “jobs,” or purposes. Beagles like Toby, for example, often are used as hunting dogs, and usually have a lot of energy, and love to run and chase. Toby was friendly and liked to meet new people, but if circumstances had been different—for example, if Toby hadn’t had the allergy, which initially made him seem more mellow and less active than a typical dog of his breed—Patsy and Mona might not have selected Toby, or a beagle, to be a therapy dog at the nursing home. Together with your child, research dog breeds at the library or online. (HINT: Check out the American Kennel Club’s website, http://www.akc.org). Choose 5–10 breeds. Using construction paper, poster board, stickers, markers, stencils, images cut from magazines or printed (if permissible) from breeders’ or other dog-friendly websites, design and make a poster or brochure, which provides helpful information and fun images of each breed. You can even bring your finished poster or brochure to a local animal shelter, or rescue organization, and offer it as a resource to help potential pet owners make informed choices, which will benefit the people and pets involved.
3. HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Just like Mona and Toby worked as a team (with help from Mona’s mom Patsy) at the nursing home, you and your child(ren) can participate in, or promote, the work of therapy dogs, and help people who might benefit from canine companionship. If you and your child want to learn about training your family dog, if you have one, to become a therapy dog (with you working as the dog’s handlers), The Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD’s) website (http://www.therapydogs.com) is a good resource for information about certification programs, testing, training, and opportunities for therapy dog/handler teams. Or, if you have a well-mannered family dog, you might consider bringing your child, together with the pup, to visit relatives or friends, who don’t have a pet of their own, but might appreciate some of your dog’s love and attention. Maybe your dog can leave his or her loving paw prints on people’s hearts, just like Toby does! If you don’t have a family dog, you and your child can still learn about, and support, the important work of therapy dogs. Brainstorm a list of friends or relatives whose dogs might be great candidates for therapy dogs. Perhaps you can invite those folks to an information session, which you and your child host. Kids can make posters and flyers for the event, to help inform and inspire guests to get involved.
Reading Toby’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale in Your Classroom
These Common Core-aligned writing activities may be used in conjunction with the pre- and post-reading discussion questions above.
1. Point of View
Toby’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale is told from perceptive pup Toby’s point of view. With a big heart and “beagle eye,” Toby shares his curious, humorous, hopeful vision of the world. Ask students to think about a family or classroom pet, or an animal they’ve seen outside in nature or at a zoo. Invite them to write 2–3 paragraphs describing a typical day from that creature’s perspective. As author W. Bruce Cameron does so skillfully and thoughtfully with Toby, encourage students to try to imagine what the world looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels like from their chosen animal’s point of view. What do people and their activities look like from the animal’s perspective? Does the animal have interactions with humans, or other animals, and what are those like? How and where does the animal eat, sleep, exercise, or socialize? How does this animal view its place, or purpose, in the larger world?
2. Born to Run
In a one-page essay, explore the central role running plays in the plot and theme of Toby’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale, and in the lives of the book’s key characters (human and canine). Invite students to discuss the different emotions, memories, worries, joys, or challenges that running brings up for each of these characters. Consider, for example, what readers learn in Chapter 4 about Trent and Grandad’s connections to running. What does running mean to them individually, and how is running a part of Trent and Grandad’s relationship with each other? How does Toby feel about running? How did Toby’s reluctance to run and be active (when his paws started troubling him) affect his early life? How does having his allergy diagnosed and rediscovering the pleasures of running impact (both positively and negatively) Toby’s role and relationships at the nursing home? Encourage students to use relevant examples, quotes, and details from the text, as well as making inferences from characters’ running-related dialogue, actions, or interactions.
3. Text Type: Opinion Piece
In Toby’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale, Patsy and Mona hope Toby will be a therapy dog that can bring happiness and comfort to the elderly, sick, and sometimes dying, residents at the nursing home where Patsy works. Patsy and Mona give far more weight to the smiles and joy Toby inspires every day (and night) at the nursing home, than to his difficulty mastering certain skills, hallway runs, occasional “puddles,” or rogue howling. Fran (the head of the nursing home), on the other hand, is concerned about the potential risks Toby—as an (increasingly) energetic puppy—poses to safety, cleanliness, and routine. She worries that Toby might trip residents, or be disruptive, especially in the hospice wing, where people need peace. Invite your students to share their opinion on whether there are more pros or cons to having Toby as a therapy dog at the nursing home. Ask students to state and support their opinion in a one-page essay, being sure to include
details and “evidence” from the story to defend their position.
4. Text Type: Narrative
Toby’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale is told entirely from Toby’s perspective. As the narrator, Toby can “explain” his actions and reactions directly to the reader, who only learns what Toby knows, observes, or experiences. Invite students to explore how the story might be different if they picked another character (such as Mona, Patsy, Fran, Trent, Grandad, or Dorothy) to be the narrator. Ask students to write 1–3 pages in the voice of that character, describing a scenario involving Toby (such as the day Toby arrives at the nursing home; the night he howls in the crate; an outdoor or treadmill run; or another joyful, or sorrowful, situation). Using, or expanding on, details from the text, have the “new narrator” comment on how Toby’s presence affects their time visiting, living, or working at the nursing home.
5. Research & Present: OF HOUND MIND AND BODY: MEET THE BEAGLE
Since the main character of Toby’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale is a beagle, readers learn about beagles as they get to know Toby, and follow him from newborn pup to therapy dog. Invite students to do online and library research to learn more about the happy hound dog. (HINT: Check out The National Beagle Club of America’s website at http://www.nationalbeagleclub.org.) Students can explore the beagle’s history, health, temperament, physicality, popularity as a pet, and even as an icon—think of cartoonist Charles Schulz’s Snoopy character! Students can share all the data they “dig up,” in a PowerPoint or other multi-media style presentation.
6. Research & Present: READY, PET, GO! ANIMALS HELPING PEOPLE
In Toby’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale, readers learn about therapy dogs from Toby’s experience, but dogs and other animals can help people in a variety of ways. In addition to therapy dogs, there are service dogs and emotional support animals (or ESAs). The benefits and applications of Animal-assisted Therapy (AAT) continue to be explored in a wide variety of settings, from schools to rehabilitation centers. Have students work in pairs or small groups, to research a topic or question they choose, related to therapy or service dogs, or emotional support animals. (HINT: Check out The Alliance of Therapy Dogs (therapydogs.com) or The International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations http://www.iahaio.org.) Have students organize and present their research findings in an oral presentation, supported by colorful visual and written aids.
Supports English Language Arts Common Core Writing Standards: W.3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.7; W.4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.7; W.5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.7; W.6.2, 6.3, 6.7; W.7.2, 7.3, 7.7
Also by
W. Bruce Cameron
A DOG’S PURPOSE PUPPY TALES
Bailey’s Story
Ellie’s Story
Max’s Story
Molly’s Story
A DOG’S WAY HOME TALE
Shelby’s Story
About the Author
W. BRUCE CAMERON is the New York Times bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose, A Dog’s Journey, A Dog’s Way Home, and the young-reader novels Ellie’s Story, Bailey’s Story, Molly’s Story, Max’s Story, and Shelby’s Story. He lives in California with his wife, Cathryn, and his dog, Tucker. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Reading & Activity Guide
Also by W. Bruce Cameron
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
TOBY’S STORY
Copyright © 2019 by W. Bruce Cameron
Reading and Activity Guide copyright © 2019 by Tor Books
Illustrations © 2019 by Richard Cowdrey
All rights reserved.
Cover photograph by Shutterstock.com
A Starscape Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Cameron, W. Bruce, author. | Cowdrey, Richard, illustrator.
Title: Toby’s story / W. Bruce Cameron; illustrations by Richard Cowdrey.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates, 2019. | Series: A dog’s purpose puppy tale | “A Starscape Book.” | Summary: Toby, an unusually calm beagle puppy, finds his purpose when Mona and her mother adopt him and teach him to be a therapy dog at a nursing home.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018056055 | ISBN 9780765394989 (hardcover: alk. paper) | ISBN 9780765395009 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Beagle (Dog breed)—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: Beagle (Dog breed)—Fiction. | Dogs—Fiction. | Animals—Infancy—Fiction. | Working dogs—Fiction. | Humanianimal relationships—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ10.3.C1466 To 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018056055
eISBN 9780765395009
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: May 2019
Toby's Story Page 11