YOUNGER FICTION
Auxier, Jonathan

Trouble with Tattle-Tails

(2) 1-3 Fabled Stables series. Illustrated by Olga Demidova. Auggie, the boy who cares for one-of-a-kind creatures at the Fabled Stables on an island at the top of the world (Willa the Wisp, rev. 9/20), returns for his second lively adventure with a new set of challenges. In the village of Rainbow's End, the newly arrived Tattle-Tail has escaped its box and multiplied. By the time Auggie and his partners, Fen the Stick-in-the Mud and Willa the Wisp, arrive, the Tattle-Tails have attached themselves to the behinds of every resident. These Tattle-Tails tattle on the town's ­residents with great enthusiasm, broadcasting all the wrongs they have witnessed. "She cut in line." "He didn't wash his hands." "She said a bad word." All this exposure of bad behavior adds a lot of humor to the story as well as making trouble for Rainbow's End. The tattling creates so much bickering and disruption that no one can address truly important issues--such as the town's stolen pot of gold. Bright cartoon art and speech-bubble dialogue help add character and detail to the story. The silly imaginary creatures combined with a gentle plot work well for early chapter book readers as well as for those eager to listen to longer stories read aloud. The solution to the Tattle-Tail dilemma, and the problems it caused, offers a number of points for engaging discussion.

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