ROSIE THE TRUFFLE HOUND

The nose knows what it knows.

Rosie is a cute brown poodle with very acute olfactory powers. She can smell anything—food or otherwise—even from great distances. She likes to surround herself with delicious aromas—easy enough, given that her humans make chocolate truffles to sell in their shop. Problem is…chocolate’s poisonous for dogs, so Rosie can’t eat any. She runs away to the city and basks in delicious fragrances. What she needs is a job so she can use her skills to their optimum advantage. Rosie lands various posts, but nothing is quite right until she finds one for which her nose is tailor-made…as a truffle hunter—the expensive, fungi kind. Here’s where readers discover that there are two kinds of truffles; that only dogs and pigs are suited to this work (though pigs also eat them!); and that a dog’s sense of smell is far keener than a human’s. Despite her success, Rosie misses her family and returns home, where her trusty nose discovers a wonderful underground surprise. Guess what else Rosie’s family will now sell in their shop? This cute but thin story about putting one’s talents to good use and using them to help others should entertain and empower; kids and adults will learn something. Rosie’s a cheery protagonist, and the lively illustrations nicely drive the text. Rosie’s family is an interracial one. Simple truffle recipes (one chocolate, one fungi) conclude the book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

All’s well that smells well.