Title: Corky Tails: Tales of a Tailless Dog Named Sagebrush
Subtitle: Sagebrush and the Disappearing Dark Sky
Author: Joni Franks
Publisher: Xlibris
ISBN: 978-1664134553
Pages: 42
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger
Pacific Book Review
In this colorfully constructed story, a little dog will save the night in his Rocky Mountain home place, making the stars shine brighter than before.
Sagebrush is a curious, active pup living with his parents Maverick and Ginger on the ranch of Young Miss. It has been a long day of hard work helping Young Miss herd the cattle to a pasture high in the Rock Mountains. Sagebrush has fallen asleep but will wake up for the campfire cookout planned later that evening. His little friends, the
Shuns, that he had helped rescue from the forest when tree cutting threatened their habitat, are going to roast razzleberries, and Young Miss will provide hotdogs. But when Sagebrush awakens, it’s much darker than usual; the safety light that guards the property from intruders has burnt out. He finds this disturbing, but the Shuns are pleased because now they can see the stars and other heavenly sights that are usually blocked by the light pollution of humans. Young Miss is surprised, too – she didn’t realize the glare of her ranch light was making it hard to see the beautiful night sky. On the way home, Sagebrush meets Cygnus, the swan made of stars, who offers a clue for fixing the too-bright artificial lighting, leaving it to Sagebrush to figure out how to make it work on the ranch. When Sagebrush passes on his newfound knowledge, Young Miss will take his advice seriously and make a much-needed change.
This is another of the Corky Tails series composed by award-winning author Franks, aided by the illustrations, both smoothly sweet and brightly active, of Ayin Visitacion. Sagebrush is a cute character with a great deal more common sense than might be expected. He is able to think, deduce and advocate as he urges his owner, a strong- minded young woman running a ranch on her own, to do the right thing. The Corky Tails are devised both to entertain and inform, offering young minds the possibility of improving their own surroundings for the benefit of all creatures. The book will make an enchanting read-to for a young audience, educating the readers as well as the listeners, while older children can read for themselves and make use of the further resources offered by Franks to discover more about their own environment.
