Book Review: A Tail Tale

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

A touching fable with lovable characters, good advice, and the power to endure

Wally isn’t invited to play with the others at the playground. Some call him a slow-poke; they don’t pick him for the soccer team. And on the way home from his new school, he sits alone on the bus.

“I wish I were special.”

Sitting under a tree outside of his house, he makes a wish that he could be special enough to be included. And special this story becomes.

There appears the Tailor, an elfish creature with a funny hat who provides the tails for all the animals on the planet. Would Wally want one? Is that the special he was looking for?

A snake, coiling down from a tree branch, wouldn’t recommend getting help from The Tailor. “Look what he did to me. I’m nothing but tail.” But with the way Wally’s life has been going, he’s at least willing to try. A monkey tail is great, fun, but the other kids will think it’s unfair. A lion’s tail is impressive, sweeping, but you can’t use your hands or your tail in soccer. Last but not least, maybe a scary alligator tail is best, so no kids pull it. 

In the end, no tail seems right. Snake knows the feeling, starting to weep about his tail-like existence. But maybe it’ll be all right for all of them. Maybe Wally has found his tail after all, a slithery little best friend to show off at school.

A Tail Tale by Christine Kessides reads like your favorite childhood fable growing up. Sure it’s about a mythical creature and a talking snake, but it’s a story about making do with what you have, being creative, sticking together, and overcoming bullying and exclusion. 

This is a story with a big heart and a big mind. It’s enjoyable on the story-level—I’d be surprised if your kid doesn’t remember the lovable elfish Tailor for a long time—but it also has Wally transforming from bullied to confident helper for the down-and-out snake, providing real life advice that he’s had to learn the hard way. 

What should you do when you’re getting bullied? This book teaches the art of looking your bullies in the eye, telling them that you don’t like it, and, if needed, getting an adult involved. I love that we flip the script on Wally without him even knowing it. He doesn’t know he’s learned from the situation until he has the snake to help and take care of. We leave proud of Wally and feeling like it’d be a blessing if our kid acted like Wally recommends in the book.

I couldn’t get out of here without talking about the fun addition of The Tailor. Welcome to the lexicon of forever-memorable fable characters like leprechauns or Rumplestiltskin, Tailor! This friendly elfish character pops up in a funny outfit and feathers peaking out of his pockets, ready to provide Wally a humorous solution that will teach him a lesson in the end. I kept waiting for The Tailor to turn out tricky in some way, but he really is here to help—even if helping doesn’t look as magical as it first appears.

A Tail Tale is a welcome addition to fable canon. Your kids are going to love it, and you are too if you’ve been looking for a good excuse to talk about bullying and inclusion on the playground.

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