WANDLE TAILS

Sven reluctantly joins his grandfather Pavel in tending an allotment. Though at first disinterested, Sven's experience reveals a world that is enhanced by folk tales told by his Russian emigrée grandfather. Each tale imparts morals to the young boy. The tales contrast with a chaotic world related to him by Padkins, a rather arrogant tuxedo cat. He learns that the animals have their own social schedule whose events inevitably end up in a happy mayhem, including the Catsino, Voron's court, Luka's meatballs, the summer party, Halloween and kitten school. In the background, one learns of the terrifying witch Baba Yaga who hovers around in her shed with chicken legs. The tales culminate in the Christmas scene, featuring an epic battle where good triumphs over bad. The book traces the natural cycle of a year on the allotment. The tales draw from fables and folk tales of ancient Russian society. The animal world is portrayed with amusing sympathy to mirror the persons that populate our own society. The book was initially written for children, but the morals and call for the simple life just as easily apply to the adult world. Wandle Tails is Paul Richard Sully's first children's book.