HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: When Toby Lost His Yard
Author: Martha Rowe Sconnely
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1463572419 Paperback
ISBN-10: 1463572417 Paperback
Website(s): https://flauthor.com/ (author)
Language level: 2
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Recommended reading level: Ages 9-12
Rating: ***** 5 stars
(5 stars=EXCELLENT; 4 stars=GOOD; 3 stars=FAIR; 2 stars=POOR; 1 star=VERY POOR; no stars=NOT RECOMMENDED)
Category: General youth fiction
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
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Sconnely,Martha Rowe . When Toby Lost His Yard (Published in 2011 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform). It is 2008 during The Great Recession, and thirteen year old middle schooler Taylor Williams has recently moved to Bent Oaks with her parents and younger brothers Matthew and David. Her best friend in eighth grade at River Oaks Academy and also a neighbor is Casee Patterson, who had formerly been homeschooled. Another neighbor, Mrs. Miller, gets a mostly black English Shepherd dog named Toby to keep her company. However, soon Mrs. Miller becomes ill and moves to live with her daughter in North Carolina, so Casee’s family takes Toby. Then Casee’s dad is transferred all the way out to Texas, and Casee asks Taylor to take care of Toby.
Taylor faces a mountain of schoolwork and a boatload of fears since her dad could lose his job, her family could lose their home, and she and her brothers could lose their school—just as she begins to like a nice boy named Austin Iverson. When Taylor’s dad is offered a job in Tallahassee, will they have to move again? How will it affect the relationship between Taylor and Austin? And what will happen to Toby? Some parents might like to know that there are a few common euphemisms (e.g. “gee”), and Austin escorts Taylor to the Spring Dance. On the positive side, Taylor’s faith deepens as she learns that no matter what we are called to give up, we can trust our Heavenly Father who loves us. When Toby Lost His Yard is a pleasant story with some important lessons. The Williamses are a family grounded in the Christian faith. When Dad loses his job, the family bands together to help out. And when something doesn’t go as Taylor would like, she keeps quoting Romans 8:28. Also, Austin is a true gentleman and treats Taylor as a boy should a girl.
I noted one major criticism of the book. “The author states that this book is for 8-10 year olds but parts of this story are not suitable for that age group. As a parent, I am not going to read a book about a young couple kissing/dating to children of that age. At this time I have an 11 year old boy whose hormones are just beginning to kick in and certainly do not need to be encouraged by reading this!.” I am quite sensitive to such objections. Although my own eighth grade experience (over fifty years) ago reminds me that it was about age thirteen that the public school practices of having boyfriends or girlfriends, going steady, and breaking up often begin, many parents think that middle school is just too young for these kind of things, and this is why a lot of us chose to homeschool our children. The critic does go on to write, “Please note there is nothing dirty in this book at all, it is just young ‘love’ being explored, but I think this story is more suited for older children who then may find some of the rest of the book a little mundane.” Otherwise, I enjoyed reading it.
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