Too-Much-Tail-Tale: Waggers by Stacy Nyikosi

WAGGERS TRIED TO BE GOOD. HE REALLY TRIED HARD.

WHEN HE SAW MONA AND MICHAEL, HIS TAIL TWIRLED SO MUCH IT SENT THE OTHER PUPPIES FLYING.

"THAT'S SOME TAIL," SAID MOM.

And is Mom going to want to reconsider thatstatement! Perhaps she should have paid attention to the sign in the pet shop over Wagger's puppy pen.

FREE PUPS!
RAZORTAIL WHIPPETS

When the twins get their happy pup home, Mom and Mona decide to make cookies to celebrate their new family member. Waggers is ecstatic!

HIS TAIL STARTED TO WAG.
SWOOP! SWOOP! SWOOP!

The kitchen is wrecked. Bowl, batter, oven mitts, all fly! The bowl breaks, the batter hits the walls, ceiling, floor, and sides of the oven. Is Waggers a bad dog?

Mom has to agree that he might be, but Dad tries to make light of the mess until... he flops down to watch TV and perhaps snooze on the sofa. Michael suddenly pops up with a dramatic whisper:

"MONSTER!"

Waggles pounces, his tail twirls, and the lamp, the side table and the sofa are shredded to a shambles. Dad is now on Mom's side in her opinion of Waggers, who is banished to the garage. But Waggers is so glad to see them in the morning that he can't help wagging his yards of tail, which scratches the family car catastrophically!

It's outside to the back yard with Waggers this time. But he is so excited to be outdoors that he wags again! Yikes!

"MY BUSHES!!!" MOM CRIED.

"MY YARD!!!" CRIED DAD.

But this time there's some good news. Thanks to Waggers, the grass is cut, the bushes are trimmed, and even the sagging tree branches are pruned. What a tail! What a dog! What a Waggers!

Stacy Nyikosi's Waggers (Sky Pony Press, 2014) is a tale that is as wild as her over-endowed pooch's tail. Kids will find her cartoon dog cute but quite over the top, with some snickers along the way. A funny pet fantasy that just might make kids think about what sort of dog they want!