Nose to nose

Thyra Heder

Book - 2024

Mishaps and mix-ups hamper Toby's ability to make friends with his fellow canines.

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Children's Room New Shelf Show me where

jE/Heder
0 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room New Shelf jE/Heder (NEW SHELF) Due Jun 17, 2025
Subjects
Genres
Animal fiction
Picture books
Published
New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers 2024.
Language
English
Main Author
Thyra Heder (author)
Physical Description
pages cm
Audience
Ages 4 to 8.
ISBN
9781419757518
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Toby is a lovable dog who struggles to make friends in his new neighborhood. He tries to connect with other dogs by leaving messages--and in classic dog fashion, those messages are all in smells--but they keep getting ruined. One day, Toby stumbles upon a very special ball: it's old and very gross, so, perfect for dogs! However, it turns out the ball belongs to another dog, Pancake. This leads to a misunderstanding where the other neighborhood dogs believe Toby took Pancake's ball on purpose, and Toby tries to set things right with even more smells and, just maybe, to finally make a friend. Heder's charming watercolor illustrations and gentle storytelling emphasize the importance of empathy, patience, and second chances, and the neighborhood dogs' messages, which are full of colorful personality and add lively detail about the dogs' everyday concerns, bring a healthy dose of humor to the text. Exploring themes of loneliness, confronting fears, and the importance of communication, Toby's journey shows that, though we might feel misunderstood, there is always a way to find connection with others, especially when we take the time to listen and understand. A lovely read full of heart and lessons about friendship, delivered with playful comedy.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this witty canine romp, a new dog named Toby "introduces" himself to the neighborhood by lifting a leg against a brick wall, a light pole, and a mailbox ("He introduced himself a lot, actually"). In a loose, sketchbook style, Heder (Sal Boat) lovingly captures the established neighborhood dogs that Toby longs to befriend--a basset hound, a bulldog, and more. Written in graffiti-style text, readers can see the messages the dogs leave for each other on walls and sidewalks. ("My Tummy feels Bad --Merlin" is accompanied by "Merlin, eat grass!") After checking out "the local postings," still-excluded Toby finds a tennis ball: "It smelled like puddles and raccoons and fit in nicely with his collection." But the ball belongs to the basset hound, Pancake, and the whole neighborhood soon gets involved. Suspense builds at length as Toby leaves an apologetic message whose meaning is altered by the rain, deepening confusion until his instincts save the day. Heder's charming canine portraits, especially of doggy actions, make this emotive new-arrival story a pup lover's treat. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4--8. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Sept.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A new dog in town has trouble making friends. The pooch introduces himself with a message sprayed in urine on a brick wall: "Hello I am Toby." Unfortunately, other olfactory messages--translated into signage readable by humans in watercolor, pencil, and ink illustrations reminiscent of Shirley Hughes' work in their luminosity and brushwork--drown out the greeting. Worse yet, a further friendly smellogram on the sidewalk is so garbled by rain, garbage collectors, and the feet of passersby that Toby's four-footed neighbors mistake him for a mean dog. What's a lonely mutt to do? Dog lovers will delight in the canine rushes of various Fidos cavorting energetically across the urban scenes and endpapers (human figures remain hazy and peripheral, though seemingly racially diverse) and yelp with pleasure at Toby's distinctly doggy solution to his dilemma. Confronted in the park by a tense, hostile pack, he approaches slowly and then suddenly drops his front end in classic "DO YOU WANT TO…CHASE ME?" posture. The canines respond with a howling chorus of "YES!" and the ice is instantly broken in a wild, gleeful rumpus. Heder may take a bit of artistic license in depicting over a dozen dogs unleashed in an apparently unfenced urban park setting, but young readers who've found themselves in a situation like Toby's will take comfort in the cathartic close. The messages that the dogs convey in urine are hilariously apt: "Suki's stick," "Don't trust the squirrels," and "Anyone for a howl?" A real tail wagger.(Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.