A Scary Tail: (Bullies watch out!) (Max The Flying Sausage Dog) (Volume 3) - Softcover

Robins, Arthur; O'Driscoll, John; Kelley, Richard

9780997228427: A Scary Tail: (Bullies watch out!) (Max The Flying Sausage Dog) (Volume 3)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0997228423 ISBN 13: 9780997228427

Publisher: Words In The Works LLC, 2016

This offbeat tale delivers a winning mix of quirky humor, real-life dilemmas, plot-propelling canine aeronautics, and a dash of compassion. Robins’ eccentric full and partial-page illustrations—a fluid line, rich in detail and color—are again a delight, balancing sweetness and comedy with expert artistry and wit...genuine fun and unsentimental charm. —Kirkus Reviews

Taking a new way home from the park, 7-year-old Tom encounters a trio of “not very nice blokes” and fears the worst. But the three bullies, rather than harassing Tom and his “sausage dog, Max” (who can secretly fly, thanks to his rotating tail), look frightened, cross the street, and take off running. Tom realizes that he is standing in front of the eerie house that is home to a mysterious someone known to his peers as the “Wicked Witch of Windy Way.” When Tom learns that the “Witch” is in reality Miss Amersham, a lonely old woman whose own beloved dachshund has died, he decides to keep it to himself, show up the bullies, and fulfill a Cub Scout goal by cleaning up her tangled garden. How Tom solves his bully problem involves Miss Amersham’s discovery of Max’s secret and her illuminating advice, his mom’s clean laundry, a nighttime campout, and the dachshund’s tail-whirling enthusiasm for grilled sausages. This is the latest book in the “Max” series about an English boy and his special pup by O’Driscoll and Kelley (Tails From the Pound, 2015, etc.). Although it offers less sly, poke-in-the-ribs humor than the authors’ previous volumes, the genuine fun and unsentimental charm in the telling remain intact. Robins’ eccentric full- and partial-page illustrations—a fluid line, rich in detail and color—are again a delight, balancing sweetness and comedy with expert artistry and wit. The authors again include a page of words and phrases unfamiliar to young American readers: “Working a treat” means something is working very well. Dachshund is pronounced “dash-hound.” “Y-Fronts” are boys’ underwear. As before, the last page offers a captioned photo of the real, now-departed Max.

TAILS FROM THE POUND (Book Two)

“...deft storytelling, humor, and heart...a peppery wit informs this gentle story throughout...the authors aim a sly bit of humor at adults. Robins’ offbeat illustrations are a spot-on match to the descriptions, with comic details to engage the eye. A thoroughly enjoyable book for young readers.” —Kirkus Reviews, January 2016

A TAIL FROM LONDON (Book One)

“This is hands down one of our favorite books ever” This book is pure magic. My eldest son loves this book so much that he actually applauded at the end and then asked for us to reread it immediately. He also laughed the hardest I have ever seen him laugh at anything. I had to stop reading and wait for him to calm down because he was laughing so hard. —The Picture Book Review

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