Henry the Dog with No Tail

by Kate Feiffer, Jules Feiffer (Illustrator)

Overview

Henry

wanted

one thing

in life.

He wanted

a tail.

All the other dogs

he knew had tails.

Grady, a black Labrador,

had a great big black tail.

Pip, a pug, could do

tricks with her tail.

Larry had a big

puffy ball tail....

WHAT WAS

HENRY TO DO?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416916147
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	10/23/2007
Series:	Paula Wiseman Bks.
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kate Feiffer is a writer, a filmmaker, and a mother. She is the author of the picture books No Go Sleep!; President Pennybaker; But I Wanted a Baby Brother!; The Wild, Wild Inside; Which Puppy?; My Mom Is Trying to Ruin My Life; and Double Pink; and of the middle-grade novels Signed by Zelda and The Problem with the Puddles. She lives with her family on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Visit her at KateFeiffer.com.

Jules Feiffer has won a number of prizes for his cartoons, plays, and screenplays, including the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Among the books he’s illustrated for children are The Phantom Tollbooth, Some Things Are Scary, and in collaboration with his daughter Kate, Henry the Dog with No Tail, and No Go Sleep. He is the author and illustrator of Bark, George, I Lost My Bear, Meanwhile, and The Man in the Ceiling.

Editorial Reviews

All Henry the dog wants is a tail-like Grady, who has a tail "like a baseball bat," or Pip, who can tie her tail into a bow, or Larry, whose tail sticks straight up. The archly whimsical text takes Henry, a brown-and-white Australian shepherd, first to a tailor, who buttons a long black tail to his hindquarters, then to a wagonmaker, who can't make Henry's new tail wag but who can sell him a wagon, then to Battery Park in New York City, where Henry picks up a battery for his tail-with disastrous results. Feiffer, illustrating his daughter's text, provides liquid ink-and-watercolor cartoons, Henry's mood evident in every line, perspective emphasizing his unhappy slink. This tale of a tail is exceedingly slight, however, its punny jokes the sort that adults think kids would like but that aren't quite on the mark. Henry's decision in the end to be happy with his tailless self will surprise no one, though there is some satisfaction in the snooty Larry's acknowledgement that Henry's "not so bad without a tail." A handsome enough effort, but nothing special. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews