Dog Tales

by Emily Rodda

The Dolan Street dogs are Max 1, Max 2, Barney, Scruffy, Gina and Mavis. Mavis is actually a goat, but she didn't know this and none of the others liked to tell her. Life for the Dolan Street dogs is not all lying around watching Dog Hospital, it can be very exciting. There's the day they saved the world, the haunting, the night the burglars came ...

Genres: Childrens, Animals, Chapter Books

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Emily Rodda (real name Jennifer Rowe) was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1973 with an MA (Hons) in English Literature. Moving into a publishing career, first as a book editor, and finally as a publisher at Angus & Robertson, Rodda's first book was published in 1984.

Reviews

[Sachikomatsuda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Japanese. I am sure the story line does not change much compared with book-to-movie story line. It is quite amusing to find that the dogs actually call their owners 'Pets' as how the owners will address the dogs. I am still quite amused with that. Overall, I agree that this is a heartwarming book for dog and non-dog lovers.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is undoubtedly my favourite book of my son's childhood. It is written from the perspective of the dogs who live on Dolan St, following their adventures on the edge of the suburbs and is delightfully and gently hilarious. The author is not only a dog lover but a keen observer of all animals and really understands their habits and points of view.

The book is structured as a series of adventures, but it's about personalities, team work, community and looking out for each other. It's an empathic book, where all the dogs are accepted, respected and valued, no matter their foibles.

I first read this to my son when he was seven. We both laughed a lot, it was a delight to come back to every night - even for the parent. We read it together a few times and he's read it many times by himself since. He's nearly twelve now and recently picked it up for the first time in a couple of years. He enjoyed all the jokes even more, reading the passages out to me with so much joy!

Thanks, Emily Rodda! You wrote some of my favourite books of my childhood, but this one tops the lot!

My second and third favourite books of my son's childhood must be Dr Seuss's The Grinch and The Sneetches.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely loved reading this and I could remember a few bits and pieces from my childhood. This was short, quick and easy to read and definitely something wonderful and imaginative for young kids.
I've always loved dogs and each one of these doggy characters was loveable and extremely unique (Scruffy was definitely my favourite!)
I enjoyed the way the stories all rolled over together yet were also separated into chapters that would make it easy to read to a kid at night.
One thing I also really loved was the way the dogs referred to their owners as the pets and the ways in which they justified their own actions and made sense of everything- reading from their perspectives was honestly so cute and fun :)

[Judy Wollin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dog Tales is about the dogs who live on Dolan Street. Life there is usually pretty good. The dogs know their friends and know Barney is in charge. Life runs smoothly until the birds start gossiping about the Dolan Street dog, saying nasty, untrue things that nasty dogs are happy to believe and spread. What can the Dolan Street dogs do about it?
I enjoyed the dogs' adventures.
Recommended for readers aged 8-12 years.

[Alayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A children's book about dogs who talk to each other and whose Pets (people) can't speak their language. Quite an interesting plot, and a good book for kids.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this as a kid, the stories never got old and warmed my heart. Very creative and unbelievably funny, I love to read it whenever I want a light read for the nostalgia.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always read a book once.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth reading just for the haunted chicken coop chapter. And also to see the two illustrations of the evil chicken. Brilliant.

[Khadija · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this with my reading buddy
pretty good ngl

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emily Rodda writes these tales about this bunch of dogs, and well it is ok.
Some humerous parts, and younger readers are sure to have a great time.

[Hanne :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my childhood favourites and fun to revisit after my sister had read it. Amusing that I still remember half the plot lines lol. 🫣

[Jeremy Shen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dog Tales is a heart-warming book about facing the challenges of friendship, loyalty and persistence in a dog’s view of perspective. Follow the story of the Dolan Street Dogs, who were Max 1, Max 2, Barney, Scruffy, Gina and Mavis, as they persist through the hardships of living at the bottom of the hill where they are constantly spied upon by birds that misjudge and ridicule their actions. The dogs soon come to learn to always be thankful for what you have, no matter how displeasing it may be or what troubles it could bring.
Emily Rodda really touched upon the values covered in this book and placed great lengths into developing characters that readers can easily relate to. By capturing the true natures and personalities that dogs possess, the Dolan Street Dogs are sure to win your hearts. Unlike her prominent series, Deltora Quest, this book is filled with a wide collection of stories to instruct rather than to entertain and it defines the challenges of everyday living into a children-friendly context.
I was really touched by this book’s overall context as to being “cute”, especially when the dogs miscomprehend the society around them and the relationships for which they have between their owners. Furthermore, the story smoothly ends with a resolution for every problem they encountered from previous chapters, thus tying all the knots of the story. However, I found it difficult to part from the story because of the way it builds a relationship between the reader and the characters. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone to relive a childhood experience.

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a friend's daughter, whose currently learning to love reading, gave it to me asking me to read it as it was her current favourite, I did. I did and was pleasantly surprised, it's a sweet book with a collection of short stories that revolve around a neighbourhood pack of dogs and a goat. They go on adventures that have an undertone of a characteristic such as courage and friendship for the moral.

[Sofie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since I was a child I have loved this book! It's such a beautiful engaging bunch of stories about dogs which are, more or less, what I live for. The fact that Mavis is a goat who thinks she's a dog is hilarious. I love the personalities of all the dogs and how they act just the way dogs do. Such a sweet book, would recommend for anyone who loves a good dog story

[shanice Davidson · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is a great way to start your day and think about what goes on in dogs head. this book shows many types of dogs live on dolan street. these dolan street dogs are big fans of dog hospital but have many drama in their lives. i recomend this book for animal lovers!=)

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favourite from childhood.
It was the first 'big' book I read and I devoured it in a crazy (for me) short amount of time. It's charming, funny and entertaining. I love it and enjoyed just as much now as I did back when I first read it.

[Nola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt sorry for the poor little dog who was worried she was going to grow up into a goat! I also very much enjoyed the part where the birds to tell the old dog that a worm is a baby sausage! A cute book.

[Nella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny story about a number of dogs that live at the end of a dead end street

[Ben Mckenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice book that children would love you to read to them

[Roxanne Allsopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always read a book once.