Rugby and Rosie

Publishers Weekly - Cahners\\Publishers_Weekly

In a heart-tugging debut, Rossiter imagines the emotions of a boy who raises a guide-dog puppy for one year, until it is old enough for intensive training. The narrator and his family already have a grown dog, a chocolate Lab named Rugby, when golden retriever Rosie arrives. "She loved everyone in the family-even Rugby!" It takes Rugby a while to warm up to the newcomer, but soon he is as smitten as the boy. When it comes time for Rosie to leave, the unhappy boy consoles Rugby ("I wanted to explain everything, but I knew he couldn't understand"), and even takes Rugby to Rosie's guide-dog "graduation." The author emphasizes the distinction between family pet and seeing-eye dog when Rosie, though delighted to see Rugby, will not leave her new, blind owner's side: "She was a working dog now with an important job to do." Rossiter concentrates on the narrator's conflicted feelings, never minimizing his grief, and does not anthropomorphize the animals. Her otherwise realistic illustrations, however, drenched in autumnal hues and elegiac golden light, bespeak a deep and unrequited nostalgia-perfect for lovers of dog stories that mix in just a touch of rue.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In a heart-tugging debut, Rossiter imagines the emotions of a boy who raises a guide-dog puppy for one year, until it is old enough for intensive training. The narrator and his family already have a grown dog, a chocolate Lab named Rugby, when golden retriever Rosie arrives. "She loved everyone in the family-even Rugby!" It takes Rugby a while to warm up to the newcomer, but soon he is as smitten as the boy. When it comes time for Rosie to leave, the unhappy boy consoles Rugby ("I wanted to explain everything, but I knew he couldn't understand"), and even takes Rugby to Rosie's guide-dog "graduation." The author emphasizes the distinction between family pet and seeing-eye dog when Rosie, though delighted to see Rugby, will not leave her new, blind owner's side: "She was a working dog now with an important job to do." Rossiter concentrates on the narrator's conflicted feelings, never minimizing his grief, and does not anthropomorphize the animals. Her otherwise realistic illustrations, however, drenched in autumnal hues and elegiac golden light, bespeak a deep and unrequited nostalgia-perfect for lovers of dog stories that mix in just a touch of rue. Ages 5-9. (Mar.)

Children's Literature - Pat Metz

A sensitive, easy to read book told in the first person by a boy who, with his dog and family, are raising a puppy for future training as a seeing-eye guide dog. This story gives meaning to the phrase- "learning to say good-bye." Beautiful paintings of Labradors complete this warm happy ending story.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-A young boy and his dog, Rugby, welcome a new puppy that will live with them for a year before leaving to train as a guide dog. The simple text is interspersed with brief facts about guide dogs; a full-page afterword provides a more complete overview and an address to write to for more information. The flat declarative sentences describe the characters' activities and feelings, but do not evoke emotion or drama. Rossiter has a stronger sense of design and pattern than of illustration. The pictures, generally one to a page, follow the text but are infused with a reddish light that tends to rob them of the feeling of space. The people seem awkward and posed, although a few of the depictions of the two dogs will appeal to young animal lovers. While this book doesn't rise to the level of a good picture storybook, it does provide an adequate, albeit abbreviated, introduction to raising a guide dog. Caroline Arnold's A Guide Dog Puppy Grows Up (Harcourt, 1991) gives a more complete view of the process by following one dog from puppyhood to graduation and includes lively and appealing photographs.-Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY

Kirkus Reviews

Rossiter's first book is a moving and informative account of a family and the puppy they raise for a year, until she is old enough to train to become a guide dog. Rosie is a yellow Labrador retriever puppy, and Rugby is the family's chocolate Lab. The story is told by a boy who is best friends with both of them. Boys and dogs spend hours playing together, but Rosie gets special training, too. Her family is strict with her about begging at the table or jumping up on people; they help her grow accustomed to traffic and commotion by taking her downtown to stores, on city buses, and other places her new owner will need her. Particularly well-limned are the boy's mixed feelings as Rosie's departure draws near. He wants her to succeed as a guide dog, but if she fails he'll be able to keep her. When Rosie does leave, it's Rugby, of course, who suffers the most, without an understanding of where his friend has gone. The golden, sun-drenched paintings convey the warmth and love evident in the story, and capture all the action of the two lovable dogs at the story's center. An afterword provides facts on guide dogs and an address to write for more information. A resonant debut.