The Tomo
‘I’m too busy to babysit, so i hope you and that mongrel dog are up for the job.’
Phil and his father’s beloved heading dog, Blue, are to work on a sheep station while Phil’s dad undergoes cancer treatment. The station manager, Chopper, isn’t happy about having a teenager in his care and certainly not with a sheepdog that doesn’t understand his signals.
Things improve when Chopper’s step-daughter, Emara, arrives, but then a wayward ram and a poor decision plummets both boy and dog into danger.
Phil will need all his strength to get them out alive.
Compellingly realistic and heart-thumpingly engrossing — David Hill.
The Tomo is now an audiobook!
We are excited to announce The Tomo has been produced as an audiobook! Look out for it on audiobook retailers such as Audible and Chirp, and also for libraries to buy from suppliers such as Overdrive.
“The ordeal, with its satisfying but realistic conclusion, offers fresh insights into all the characters involved making this a thoroughly satisfying story.”
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My grandfather, Phil Evans, was a farmer and a storyteller. He kept diaries, wrote letters and verbally told his stories of dogs and horses, of the early days of playing polo and what it was like to be a farmer in NZ, a century ago. This particular story of losing his beloved dog down a tomo fascinated me from the first time I read his brief, three page account in a small booklet called Dogs, Horses and Men. It was an extraordinary, crazy rescue and originally, I wanted to retell my grandfather’s exact story, but writing historical fiction is not my forte. So, I’ve brought the tale into contemporary times and invented a fictional Phil to hang the story on.
The love a person can feel for a loyal dog is relevant to any era, any age and any gender. Dogs make exceptional co-workers with their intuition and to lose a special dog down a deep shaft must have been terrible for my grandfather. He thought about getting his dog out for three days before he attempted the rescue. It was 1926 and the logistics of getting his lengths of knotted plough lines way out to the tomo must have been a feat in itself. But to climb down the ninety-seven foot shaft was either mad…... or brave. I know what I think.
Find out more HERE in Mary-anne’s interview with ReadNZ.org
Find out more HERE in Mary-anne’s interview with Grownups.com
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Shortlisted for Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction in the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2022
The Tomo by Mary-anne Scott is a finalist in the Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Junior Fiction Award category of the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2022. The awards committee said it was a bumper year for entries in this category. The judges say the finalists stand out with not only original concepts, but also accomplished world building, authentic characterisation and settings, and, ultimately, well-written stories for this important age group.
View the finalists here.
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Read reviews of The Tomo here.
The Tomo Radio Review
Lou from Radio Kidnappers review’s Mary-anne’s The Tomo, skip to 4.17 to hear the detailed review.
The illustration of this beautiful dog was done by Lisa Allen. She’s captured the pathos in Blue’s face.
‘She’s the best dog our family’s ever owned,’ Phil said. An image of her perfect face so full of personality came into his mind. The way she tilted her head when spoken to, as if she were really concentrating. Or the way she gave big dog-sighs of contentment when someone stroked her coat. ‘I’m getting her back.’