Making Scents by Arthur Yorinks

This is a silly story that is mostly fun and a bit sad.  He was an abandoned baby that is adopted by a man and his wife who raise dogs.  They train the boy just like they do the dogs...

First Second Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published June 27th.

He loves his parents and his "brothers and sisters" (the dogs).  He has some trouble learning to use his nose well for dog work but he tries hard and manages to find his father's glasses so he's well on his way to dog life.  Then they decide he must go to school.  That's a real experience.  You don't do dog at school...

By telling a teacher the fish she was going to eat was bad, he finally gets accepted at school.  They're even going to feature him during the assembly.  But bad luck hits and while he's showing off his nose skills, his parents die in an auto accident.  He then becomes the ward of his mother's older sister and her husband.  The husband doesn't like dogs or kids, so it's a tough situation.

While this novel is done in graphic form and is easy to read, it covers the death of his parents which is sad.  The ending brings everything together and a family is formed again so it's not hopeless.  I'd just suggest you talk about the story if your child seems troubled.  The story starts odd, has the dog angle, and ends up fine but since the deaths are unexpected, it even bothered me.