Editorial Review
Tails are irresistible to toddlers--though most are beyond the reach of small hands. But now there's reason for tail fans everywhere to rejoice: a colorful collection of tails created just for those eager toddlers to tug, pat, and even scratch and sniff!
Matthew Van Fleet's lovable menagerie features furry tails, spiny tails, shiny tails, and tails that wag--all designed to inspire and withstand hours of interactive play. While pulling tabs and opening gatefolds, those tail tuggers can also learn to count from one to ten. Tails is so full of action and fun that even parents will revel in repeated readings.
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Customer Reviews
"Finger-tickling fun for toddlers"...crushing tedium for their parents 
2008-07-20
A well-meaning friend gave us this book, along with a bunch of others, and all I can say is that the other ones were infinitely better. It's true that our little girl (less than 2) is pretty keen on the book, but within a matter of months she had ripped out the waggling tails and I had grown very, very tired of the artist's limited repertoire of facial expressions, jokes, limp rhymes and cutesy-cuddly anthropomorphic animals. A sign of how much it compels our own toddler is that by now, she is only interested in the (admittedly mildly impressive) peacock. Elsewhere, you too will get bored and irritated by the sheer repetitiveness of it all, not to mention the actually kind of nauseating smell of the scratch & sniff skunk's tail.
There are a number of other books for very small kids that I would recommend more than this one. Judith Kerr's 'The Tiger Who Came To Tea', for example, is a truly strange and mysterious story that our girl returns to over and over again. 'Tails', however, is a one-joke book which tries to be educational but which is meanwhile relentlessly inaccurate from a zoological point of view - if you're going to show something about animals that doesn't actually feature them as characters, you could at least show them behaving in something like the ways they really behave, instead of having lions cheerfully hanging out with porcupines. Avoid.
Excellent diction, hilarious pictures, fun for adults 
2008-06-14
Disclaimer: my wife used to work for the publisher (we
got it free along with every other new release). This
was by far the most fun of any of them. We bought several
extra copies for gifts to friends.
Great book to read to pre-readers. Too many complex and unusual
words for learning to read. The pull out fun (and wagging tails)
are made of many layers of cardboard, so it lasts a lot longer
than most active books.
lots of fun 2008-05-10
Bought this for our 15-month old--he loves all the different textures and turned the nice big pages. And mom & dad learned about new animals too (pangolin??). However, I think he is a little young for it because he pulled out some of the tabs that make the tails move--they are sturdy enough we can repair it, but we may put the book away for awhile until he's a bit older.
Great interactive book 2008-05-07
We got this as a gift for my 18 month old daughter and she absolutely loves it. The design is extremely sturdy, which is great, because with all the use it gets, it needs to be. Some books have tabs that make parts of the book "move", but after repeated use, they tear and the moving parts don't work anymore. Not a worry with this book. It has held up great. The textures that are used for the touch and feel items are perfect, the drawings are adorable, and the fact that the author uses animals not typically chosen for children at this age is an added bonus. Forget your run-of-the-mill cats, dogs, and lions, your child will encounter boars, porcupines, weasels, chipmunks, pangolins, and tamarins. (Yes, I will admit, I never heard of the last two animals until I read this book--even a parent can learn something from it!) Matthew van Fleet added a nice touch to the book by including pictures of the animals in the back that you saw throughout the story, along with their names, so kids can learn about animals that they were probably not exposed to prior this. A GREAT interactive book for curious little minds! You will not be disappointed.
Fun Book 2008-03-19
I first learned about this book a few years ago when I was babysitting a friends child. I thought it was cute then. Since then, I have had a little boy of my own, who is now almost a year old, and he really likes this book. He really seems fascinated by all the things this book does! He doesn't usually sit still to read books, but this keeps his attention. I also just purchased the book "Dog" by Matthew Van Fleet. That is a birthday gift for my son, but my husband and I both think that its a cute/humorous book. (anything that isn't annoying for me to read repeatedly is a huge plus!) I am now very interested in other books by this author, and excited to purchase a few more by him! Can't wait for the new "Alphabet" book to come out!!
Great tactile Book for babies and toddlers 
2008-03-06
Tails are irresistible to toddlers--though most are beyond the reach of small hands. But now there's reason for tail fans everywhere to rejoice: a colorful collection of tails created just for those eager toddlers to tug, pat, and even scratch and sniff!
Matthew Van Fleet's lovable menagerie features furry tails, spiny tails, shiny tails, and tails that wag--all designed to inspire and withstand hours of interactive play. While pulling tabs and opening gatefolds, those tail tuggers can also learn to count from one to ten. Tails is so full of action and fun that even parents will revel in repeated readings.
Her FAVORITE!!! 2008-02-26
My baby received this book for Christmas. She is one. She LOVES this book. She loves to feel and move the tails. She did rip the end of the pigs tail off, but for once I don't care. This book is golden!!!
Excellent book! Just keep an eye on it... 2008-02-15
My 1 1/2 year old daughter recieved this as a gift and she loves it! There are many things to touch and pull. (Two wagging tails and one that pulls up to reveal new things)
I will warn you that I have had to patch this books twice.
The first time was for the pull up tab. She managed to rip half of it out of the book. The pages are not cheap and flimsy... my husband was "watching" her at the time and she had the time to sit and really yank on it a few good times. And since she was only pulling on one side... Well... It was a quick and easy fix.
The other patch job, is actually mentioned by another person here. The pig's swatting tail... she ripped the poof off and I managed to find it two days later.
This is a great book that any child would love! :) Just be sure to keep an eye on her while she's playing with it.
Entertaining for all your kids 2008-02-08
This was a gift for my youngest and then I bought it for my sister's youngest. It's a great book with things to move and touch. My six year old reads it to the little ones and learns about new animals.
Fun book for baby and parent! 2008-01-14
This is such a great book! It has tons of interesting textures and moving items. A very interactive and fun reading experience for everyone. Our little one really enjoys this book.
