Customer Reviews

Henry the Dog with No Tail (Paula Wiseman Books)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is just a tail-riffic book filled with zany puns (much better than my own). Kate Feiffer's TALE of the Australian sheep dog (they typically do not have tails) is not only witty and wise, but her story-telling is superb. The lessons here about finding your identity, your true friends, and self-acceptance are important ones, but they never take precedence over the first requirement of telling a good story.

Feiffer sounds an authentic note in showing that not all of Henry's "friends" are nice, either pre- or post-tail. This is a departure from some books' all-support-all-the-time stance, and the realism makes it a more helpful for any toddler or early grade schooler. However, when Henry ultimately decides he'll just go without a tail, all the dogs agree that's fine: One mildly dissenting spoil-sport might have enhanced book discussion. Still, the young target audience will appreciate the dog's unifrom acceptance.

Kate Feiffer is talented enough to command her pick of illustrators, but she didn't have to look any further than her own backyard,; or rather, her dad's: Award-winning illustrator-author-etc. Jules Feiffer. His pictures have the classic Feiffer style, casual line and color drawings that evoke movement and character, and a mixture of realism and fantasy befitting one of our best humorists and satirists. Feiffer suggests personality in his ore subtle drawings, but also depicts the wild shenanigans caused by Henry's fake tails. One of them, a long ropey tail made by a TAILOR (of course!), enables Henry to do all kinds of fancy tricks, earning the admiration of most of the dogs. Alas, he trips over the buttoned-on tail, can't even wag it, and is found out.

Discouraged and rejected (by some), Henry leaves his home and neighborhood. Eventually he meet a wagon-maker, of whom Henry asked (obviously) if he can make a WAGging tail! He can't, but Henry fins another solution in New York's Battery Park, which, of course, is littered with bartteries! (While not all 3 year-olds will understand what a battery is, let alone the location of Battery Park, or the explicit pun), it's a very funny conceit that many kids--and their adult readers--will enjoy.) Henry ties this onto his tail, and, voila, not only does his tail wag, but it bounces will along the ground, and propels him skyward like a helicopter!

Henry, despite his newfound talents and tricks, also yearns for a normal, non-flying, authentic dog experience, even if his battery-powered special effects hadn't been discovered by wise-dog Larry. He decided that he'll just be himself, and everyone agrees that's the best tail of all. A beautifully told and illustrated book, I'll put this intelligent, well-told story in my list of top 20 books I've read this year.

Our eldest daughter received "Henry, the Dog with No Tail" as a birthday gift, and it immediately leapt to the top of the stack of bedtime favorites. Our children love Henry and his posse's fanciful antics and the endearingly realistic illustrations. The book has sparked lots of conversation among our kids about the side life our dog might be leading when she is out-and-about with her own doggie friends. Most of all, our kids love that Henry's friends want him to be happy and that, in the end, Henry learns to be happy just as he is.

Whether or not you're a dog lover, you'll love this tail's tale.

It is Perfect! All dog loving children and adults will enjoy this delightfully illustrated story book. Henry is perfect just the way he is. Thank you for the perfect reading experience for my granddaughter, our Aussie and I.

As the guardian of an Australian Shepherd who happens to be named Henry, I snapped this book right up without even looking to see what it was about. Once I read it I knew all of the children in my life would love it, especially since they're all dog-lovers and have a "cousin" Aussie named Henry.

First of all, Jules Feiffer's illustrations are wonderful as always. He captures the characters' personalities just perfectly. The story is wonderful as well. Kate Feiffer uses lots of fun word-play that parents will love and kids will get a giggle out of it too. It is lighthearted but has a good message about acceptance at its core.

If there is a 4 to 6 year old in your life, he or she will love the wit and whimsy found in "Henry, the Dog with No Tail."

Also an absolute MUST for Australian Shepherd lovers.

My second grade class loved this book! Kate Feiffer was not originally part of the second grade author study curriculum. However, my students were so entertained by her style, I was driven by their enthusiasm to include her winsome stories as an additional study. I am so glad I did. The students enjoyed comparing and contrasting the story elements of her texts! Henry, the Dog with No Tail was one of their favorites. They were able to turn and talk to their partner and predict what might happen next to Henry. Additionally, they worked together to resolve Henry's conflict of having no tail prior to learning the actual outcome. Ms. Feiffer's various characters, settings, problems, and themes, are the perfect blend to create an educational, interesting, and entertaining author study. Without prompting by me, my students wrote to Kate Feiffer to tell her how much they enjoyed her books. They were overjoyed when they received a response from Ms. Feiffer who also included a signed copy of her latest book, classroom activities, and a picture of the "real" Henry! Teachers, parents, and students support those who, not only write for children, but clearly have a fondness and an understanding for them.

My 3-year-old loved Feiffer's story about a dog searching for a tale and finding instead that he should love himself as he is. It's true that younger children will probably not "get" the puns, but they are a fun surprise for the adult readers (I laughed out loud). The puns, though a small part of the book, provide an opportunity to help kids begin to appreciate the richness of language (I pointed out the puns to my daugher). As other reviewers have said, the illustrations are lovely. I agree that the family sending Henry out on his own to look for a tail is a bit unsettling, partly because the illustration depicts a dejected Henry walking away as his family seemingly stands guard in the background, like angels guarding the entry to Eden; however, the book is more realistic than most, gently teaching some hard lessons about life, so perhaps this is a way of showing that sometimes you have to find your own happiness, though it would have been nice if the family had lovingly explained this to Henry before sending him out. Overall, though, the book is one to add to your child's collection.

I read my daughter a LOT of books, from many different authors. I like books with a message, books with good art, and books that make her learn. The basic message of this book is "be comfortable with the way you are", which is a decent message. The water color paintings in the book are good, and it is clear that the artist knows dogs very well since the forms a gestures of the dogs are well studied.

The main problem I have with the book is that the puns, such as a dog in search of a tail goes to a tailor, a dog who needs their tail to wag goes to a wagon maker, a park called "Battery Park" is covered with batteries, are not really appreciated by my 5 year old daughter, and ultimately I think they are goofy and distracting puns from the book's main message. I appreciate books that are fanciful and imaginative, but these puns are just goofy, awkward and at worst counter-educative.

There is also a page where the "family" suggest that the dog goes out on its own and finds it's tail, which is really kind of sad. Perhaps the family could have helped their dog find its tail instead of sending him out.

Ultimately, beyond the puns, the book's writing is not very well crafted. I appreciate books that have good rhythm and verse - even if not terribly strict. Other readers may find this book delightful if not wistful, but reading of this book is a bit "awkward" to my tongue, and the puns are potentially confusing.

In other words, I give two stars for writing, and four stars for artwork.

This book does not make sense to my 3 yr old grandson. The dog goes to Battery Park, which is a lot strewn with batteries, and ties a battery on his manufactured tail. This makes the tail spin around....
I am in favor of silliness but this just simply doesn't make sense.