A heartwarming story about the growing bond between a child and a new pet—inspired by the author’s experience with a rescue dog of the same name. When a young boy and his father move from one house to another, they decide to adopt a dog from the local rescue shelter. But their chosen dog, Toby, is having a tough time adjusting to his new life outside the shelter—howling all night, hiding fearfully from his new humans, forgetting where to go to the bathroom, and chasing a ball through the flower bed. The boy has promised to train his new companion, and he’s trying his best, but Dad is starting to get exasperated. Will Toby ever feel comfortable with his new family and settle into his forever home, or will Dad decide he’s not the right dog for them after all?

Introducing Toby, a friendly, curious young mouse, who is also the star of brand new series featuring developmentally appropriate themes familiar to all toddlers. Each book chronicles Toby's adventures as he learns new things and experiences the wonders and growing pains of being a preschooler. Full color.

An award-winning journalist reveals the dramatic true story of the CIA's Team Alpha, the first Americans to be dropped behind enemy lines in Afghanistan after 9/11. America is reeling; Al-Qaeda has struck and thousands are dead. The country scrambles to respond, but the Pentagon has no plan for Afghanistan—where Osama bin Laden masterminded the attack and is protected by the Taliban. Instead, the CIA steps forward to spearhead the war. Eight CIA officers are dropped into the mountains of northern Afghanistan on October 17, 2001. They are Team Alpha, an eclectic band of linguists, tribal experts, and elite warriors: the first Americans to operate inside Taliban territory. Their covert mission is to track down Al- Qaeda and stop the terrorists from infiltrating the United States again. First Casualty places you with Team Alpha as the CIA rides into battle on horseback alongside the warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. In Washington, DC, few trust that the CIA men, the Green Berets, and the Americans’ outnumbered Afghan allies can prevail before winter sets in. On the ground, Team Alpha is undeterred. The Taliban is routed but hatches a plot with Al-Qaeda to hit back. Hundreds of suicidal fighters, many hiding weapons, fake a surrender and are transported to Qala-i Jangi—the “Fort of War.” Team Alpha’s Mike Spann, an ex-Marine, and David Tyson, a polyglot former Central Asian studies academic, seize America’s initial opportunity to extract intelligence from men trained by bin Laden—among them a young Muslim convert from California. The prisoners revolt and one CIA officer falls—the first casualty in America’s longest war, which will last two decades. The other CIA man shoots dead the Al-Qaeda jihadists attacking his comrade. To survive, he must fight his way out against overwhelming odds. Award-winning author Toby Harnden gained unprecedented access to all living Team Alpha members and every level of the CIA. Superbly researched, First Casualty draws on extensive interviews, secret documents, and deep reporting inside Afghanistan. As gripping as any adventure novel, yet intimate and profoundly moving, it tells how America found a winning strategy only to abandon it. Harnden reveals that the lessons of early victory and the haunting foretelling it contained—unreliable allies, ethnic rivalries, suicide attacks, and errant US bombs—were ignored, tragically fueling a twenty-year conflict. "Masterful, complex, and heartfelt, from the deeply personal to the critically strategic. Captures many lessons on many levels." —Ambassador Hank Crumpton, former senior CIA officer

In Engaging the Other: “Japan and Its Alter-Egos”, 1550-1850 Ronald P. Toby examines new discourses of identity and difference in early modern Japan, a discourse catalyzed by the “Iberian irruption,” the appearance of Portuguese and other new, radical others in the sixteenth century. The encounter with peoples and countries unimagined in earlier discourse provoked an identity crisis, a paradigm shift from a view of the world as comprising only “three countries” (sangoku), i.e., Japan, China and India, to a world of “myriad countries” (bankoku) and peoples. In order to understand the new radical alterities, the Japanese were forced to establish new parameters of difference from familiar, proximate others, i.e., China, Korea and Ryukyu. Toby examines their articulation in literature, visual and performing arts, law, and customs.

When Toby the dog gets old and sick and finally dies, the children who love him express their love in different ways.

Toby the dog is a beloved pet, but he doesn't seem to be able to do any tricks.

Families with new babies and older siblings will see themselves reflected in this ever-so-sweet story of sibling rivalry as a young elephant gets frustrated with all the attention his baby sister is receiving. Toby is no longer a little elephant. He's a big boy now, much bigger than baby sister Iris. He can do exciting things all by himself. He can pour his own milk, read his own bedtime stories (sort of), and even reach the snacks high on the shelf that he's been told are "just for mamas." But sometimes it feels that Toby has to do everything by himself because Mama is too busy with Iris. And some things are really hard even for a big boy. Toby ends up with spaghetti on his nose, rain boots that don't match, and toilet paper everywhere! He is mad. Luckily, Mama is there to remind Toby of the perks of being a toddler--and that no matter how big he gets, he'll always be her baby.

Toby's Terrific Tale is the first in the Friends of Toby Book Series. This story is based on a true story about an amazing dog named Toby! This boy kept getting overlooked for adoption because his back legs looked different. But as you read, Toby will show you how determined he was to find the right family to adopt him and how amazing it was to see him grow with his new, loving family!

This Book tells a story of Love, Hope and Courage. It follows the Life's Journey of a young boy at age 12 and his mate whom he chose to take on this Journey. Toby's Dream became Cecile's reality. You will find this book interesting and amusing.

"Mother-daughter conflicts, age-old prejudices and mistrust, and generational divides challenge the members of this temporary community as they bump up against each other seeking identity, acceptance, and healing"--