Customer Reviews

The Scallywags

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

 

 

My three year old granddaughter loves this book. I bought it to help teach her table manners. The book teaches that bad manners annoy others, and that telling others that they have bad manners is also annoying. The reason that I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 is that at the end of the book, a full moon comes out and the wolves return to their former behavior. To me this defeated my intent of teaching her good manners, permanently.

The book is beautifully illustrated and a lot of fun. I recommend it.

Scallywags is one of the funniest picture books I've read, with wonderfully developed characters. Crumbs, Grub, Hairball, Scribble, Knits, YoYo, Earwax, Brooz and Jumble are the Scallywags--a pack of wolves who show up late for the animals' group photograph and are ostracized for their bad behavior. Resolving to learn better manners, the Scallywags go back into town and eavesdrop, one suspended by rope at a window, another disguised as a shrub, others lurking in outlandish places, all learning to be polite. But perhaps they learn too well. At dinner they point out everyone else's imperfections--the pigs who slurp, the geese who honk with their beaks full. This fussiness, everyone decides, is impossible to take. They'd rather have the old wolves back--at least they were fun. Readers will enjoy seeing how things unravel.

It's a manners book, among other things, and if you're of a mind, all sorts of interesting discussions can follow, such as what manners are for, who should have them, the best way to learn them; how, when, and whether someone should be corrected.

VERY fun book, great illustrations. Good message too - don't get so preachy about others manners that you don't enjoy them! VERY highly recommended. Illustrations are fabulous and fun!

As a mom of a 4 year old who is not interested in anyone who isn't wearing a a dress and a crown I was thrilled to find this book. This book is smart and funny and has great illustrations. Even though there is not a princess in sight it captured my daughter's attention and we've read it several times this week. And I must say not only enjoyable to my 4 year old but also a pleasure for me to read to her. Thank you David Melling, well done. I am on Amazon looking up other books by this author right now.

It has good pictures and an entertaining story about friendship and the balance betwen being polite and having fun. I have read it to my boy since he was about 3, he loves it too.