Title: Corky Tails: Tales of a Tailless Dog Named Sagebrush
Subtitle: Sagebrush and the Butterfly Creek Flood
Author: Joni Franks
Illustrator: Raquel Rodriguez
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-9845-5177-1
Pages: 54
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
Pacific Book Review Master storyteller and author Joni Franks brings the cast from Corky Tails together for an episode filled with adventure, life-and-death survival, plus a good lesson to be learned in Sagebrush and the Butterfly Creek Flood.
The Young Miss was up early in her cabin in the Rocky Mountains, as she and her tailless dog, Sagebrush, were preparing to collect apples during the harvest. Sagebrush loved eating apples – something dogs generally never eat. As a mountain storm was approaching, the story shifts to the Shuns, the little people. Acorn the father, Rainbow his bride and their baby Termite are all gathering food by the banks of Butterfly Creek. Suddenly there is a loud boom and the water begins to rush down the creek in an flood when a hiker is swept off the rocks and immersed in the raging waters. He held on for dear life as he uses a rescue whistle for help. The sound is heard by Sagebrush, who brings a rescue party to his location. As a form of triage is decided upon as to how best to save the lives of the Shuns along with Mr. Hiker Man, the hiker yells to the Young Miss to save him first, as he is more important than the “little people.” The Young Miss says to him all lives matter, large and small, and proceeds to save everyone. The book has a happy ending when they all share food at a picnic as the scene is set for yet another episode of Tales of a Tailless Dog Named Sagebrush.
Joni Franks along with illustrator Raquel Rodriguez have created another perfectly balanced storybook for children with enough galley text offering a comprehensive adventure, full page illustrations to show the readers the details of the characters, and a subtle morality being conveyed as the tale progresses. You feel the love of the Young Miss and her dog, the society of the Shuns living in peace and harmony with the land, and the influence of humans – unfortunately sometimes selfish and uncaring.
Viewed as a series of books titled Corky Tails: Tales of a Tailless Dog Named Sagebrush, we are once again brought to the imaginary of a world only Joni Franks could deliver. In a synergic way, being the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; this book in the series of Sagebrush adventures makes for a collection worth keeping.
