Fox & Son Tailers

(Paperback, New edition)

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Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

FOX & SONS - Makers of the Finest Traditional Tails for All Animals and Every Occasion!

Rorys dad, Fox, is a tailer. The BEST in the business! Animals come from all over to have their tails made by him. Rory helps his dad in the shop and one of his jobs is measuring the customers for the tails - which isn't always easy!

But Rory is bored of making the same old tails. He has his own amazing ideas ...

A beautiful story with a heart-warming ending ... and with foxes! I love it. -Chris Haughton

Reviews

A beautiful book anchored in a simply brilliant idea a world where animals have no tails: call in the Tailers! Genius.

-- Joseph Coelho, in The Guardian

A beautiful story with a heart-warming ending ... and with foxes! I love it.

-- Chris Haughton

The fox gets a poor deal in stories. The scourge of every henhouse, not even gingerbread men are safe from his jaws, and the sly creature forever doomed to take the bad-guy role in almost every fable and fairytale. Even though we may admire his intelligence, a vulpine character can never be trusted, for fear his cunning will be turned to nefarious purpose. It is delightful, therefore, to step through the doors of Fox&Son, Makers of the Finest Traditional Tails, into an elegant world of top hats and tweeds. It is, indeed, a tale of tails, and what fine bushy tails they are too. Young Rorys father, whose name, by some strange quirk of fate, is Fox, is a tailer, like his father and grandfather before him. Animals arrive from far and wide to have their measurements taken and speciality tails of all shapes and sizes created to their own specifications. Rory, however, is bored of helping his father to make the same old tails, day in, day out. He longs to put his designs for fancy, feathery, flamboyant fashions into practice but Fox is not impressed with such silly things. Despite his fathers conservatism, Rory sneaks into the workshop when everyone is asleep and continues to let his imagination run wild, creating wacky ideas for colourful tails designed to showcase the wearers individuality. The determination to overcome the scepticism of others and follow his dreams pays dividends for Rory in this uplifting celebration of originality, beautifully presented in vibrant hues by Antrim-born author-illustrator Paddy Donnelly

* The Echo *

like all of Paddy's books, is another gem. It's a beautifully published and produced hardback There are so many parts of this book to love - from the heartwarming tale to the stunning, rich illustrations and the underlying message. To start with the illustrations, there is no denying how beautiful Fox and Son Tailers is! The pictures are incredibly detailed - there are so many little bits to look at and talk about favourite was the double-page spread of the peacock wearing his new tail - stunning. The colour palette is rich and warm - perfect for an autumnal bedtime story. The message behind the story is a worthy one too. It's about the value of creativity, trying out new things, believing in yourself and so much moreUtterly lovely book, well worth a read to appreciate its beauty and warmth

-- @literate.littles

cleverly written and wonderfully illustrated, this is a must have will have readers of all ages smiling

-- MyShelvesAreFull

I love Fox and Son Tailers A charming story with detailed, witty illustrations. Age 3+

-- Sarah Webb

Im suddenly a huge fan. His artwork is vibrant, playful and clever. Fox and Son Tailer is great and its not a spelling mistake. They make tails. Its also a lovely book about creativity. Great stuff

-- Simon Smith @smithsmm

quite simply a charming childrens story The writing is a mix of both prose and verse which adds cadence to this whimsical yet sentimental little tale about embracing your creativity and discovering that the people you know the best can still surprise you. Donnellys digital illustrations are wonderfully textured and inventive, theres even a secret adventure if you follow the mice on every page. Another triumph of storytelling from the author of the captivating childrens book The Vanishing Lake

-- Irish Examiner

Paddy Donnellys new picture book will suit young readers perfectly. It celebrates the joy and importance of creativity, family love and relationships, and it has a particularly fine what if as its starting point. Fox and Son Tailers you see, have been providing tails to smartly dressed animals for generations. Their shop is always busy, filled with birds and animals of all sorts trying on tails for size. Rory, youngest in the family, helps his dad in the shop, measuring the customers. Each spread is filled with bustle and activity so that you can almost hear the chatter of the customers, the opening and closing of doors and drawers. The pages depicting the fittings for the first day back at school is particularly hectic, feathers, tape measures and fluffy tails flying everywhere as little bunnies cause chaos Donnellys digital artwork has a gorgeous textured, painterly feel that is just right for the story and theres much to enjoy, discover and discuss in this story

-- Books for Keeps

The fox gets a poor deal in stories. The scourge of every henhouse, not even gingerbread men are safe from his jaws, and the sly creature forever doomed to take the bad-guy role in almost every fable and fairytale. Even though we may admire his intelligence, a vulpine character can never be trusted, for fear his cunning will be turned to nefarious purpose. It is delightful, therefore, to step through the doors of Fox&Son, Makers of the Finest Traditional Tails, into an elegant world of top hats and tweeds. It is, indeed, a tale of tails, and what fine bushy tails they are too. Young Rorys father, whose name, by some strange quirk of fate, is Fox, is a tailer, like his father and grandfather before him. Animals arrive from far and wide to have their measurements taken and speciality tails of all shapes and sizes created to their own specifications. Rory, however, is bored of helping his father to make the same old tails, day in, day out. He longs to put his designs for fancy, feathery, flamboyant fashions into practice but Fox is not impressed with such silly things. Despite his fathers conservatism, Rory sneaks into the workshop when everyone is asleep and continues to let his imagination run wild, creating wacky ideas for colourful tails designed to showcase the wearers individuality. The determination to overcome the scepticism of others and follow his dreams pays dividends for Rory in this uplifting celebration of originality, beautifully presented in vibrant hues by Antrim-born author-illustrator Paddy Donnelly

-- Evening Echo

The illustrations by Donnelly are humorous, colourful, and very detailed. The illustrations allow for plenty of talk and discussion. I would recommend this book for children ages 4-7. This story could also be integrated into a literacy lesson to help explore themes about families, animals, and encourage students to explore their own creativity through the visual arts. The story would be very useful as a resource to teach the reading comprehension strategies of comparing, connecting and creating images in the junior classes

-- Seomra Ranga

Paddy Donnelly never ceases to thoroughly enchant me with his picture books. Storytelling and drawing have always been an important part of his life and his creations, gifted to us through both his illustrations and his writing, take us on imaginative, quirky, heartfelt journeys into the world around us A charming tale filled with wordplay and expressive pictures, this book is full of personality. It is a wonder that shows the magic of following your dreams and staying true to your own course, regardless of what others (even those closest to you) may think. There is also a solid sense of inter-generational family life; carrying on with traditions while adding that special something of yourself that allows for growth, change and welllife to bloom. With meticulous detail and clever twists of the brush, we visit an animal world not unlike our own, with a variety of creatures who have certain needs and expectations, all of which are met by Fox & Son. But it is Rorys dream to offer something unexpected. While first met with a gentle just do as youre told, Rory is determined and quietly perseveres. And it seems he was right all alongwe need a bit of different in our lives! Quirky, fun, creative, joyousand heartwarming. Fox & Son Tailer is utterly wonderful!

-- Fallen Star Stories

Paddy is a visual storyteller and the details in the illustrations through the pages where Rory helps his Dad in his shop are brim full of extra details that children will delight in. Rory is a maverick! He comes up with new and innovative suggestions for tails with bright colours, feathers, spikes and bounce! Rorys Dad is unconvinced. Tradition is tradition in the noble profession he follows until a very important customer, Mr Peacock comes shopping for a tail like no otherwill Rorys imaginative ideas be what this customer is looking for Honouring his Irish roots where mythical and magical creatures weave themselves into storytelling, Paddys new book is a gorgeous, colourful treat of a story! Reminiscent of the origin Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, I think youll love the satisfying ending in which an apology, a very happy peacock and a new generation of tailers feature

-- Educa8Wirral

#BookOfTheDay, 5^th Sep 2022

-- ACHUKA

one of the most beautiful looking books weve seen in a long time

-- RTE Guide

A clever story with exuberant illustrations that are full of tiny details for young eyes to pore over. A real winner

-- Irish Independent

beautifully illustrated

-- Tuam Herald

a wonderful new childrens book that reimagines the father-and-son relationship and emphasises the importance of creative expression. Beautifully written and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly; the colours jump off the page as Donnellys prose weaves a vivid and fun narrative to be enjoyed by all families

-- Jay Hall, Kennys Bookshop in the Sunday Times Ireland

this is a fabulous book, the illustrations are gorgeous a beautiful book, I highly recommend it

-- Caroline Busher - Ireland AM

This is such a clever book, with wonderfully rich illustrations, and is sure to b

Author Bio

Paddy Donnelly is an Irish author & illustrator living in Belgium. He grew up on the north coast of Ireland, surrounded by mythical stories of giants, magicalcreatures and shape-shifting animals - all set in a stunning landscape from another time. All of this prompted his love for nature, animals, the sea and storytelling. He creates his illustrations digitally, but loves working with a textured, painterly approach. He wishes Pluto was still a planet.