Quirky Tails: More Oddball Stories

"Quirky Tails" (first published in 1987) is a rather odd book in Paul Jennings' "Un" series. For one, it's title doesn't begin with "Un" (like "Uncanny" and "Unreal"), plus the stories are a little more foreboding too. It's a lot shorter than the other books too, it's thin spine almost making Jennings' creepier-than-usual stories more claustrophobic. At least, that's how I used to feel when I was a kid reading this. It's still good fun, though, and still classic Jennings. It's funny, it's weird and, as usual, is very Australian, featuring a lot of locations in and around the city of Melbourne. Plus, it's easy read for all ages (8 years and up, I'd say). There are nine Quirky Tales to read in this book. Here's a summary: "Sneeze 'n Coffin", more or less, is about the children of an undertaker, and the embarrassment that creates. Pretty realistic for Paul Jennings. This one could actually happen! "Santa Claws" is Jennings' Christmas story, featuring a grubby, wish granting version of Father Christmas, known as "Santa Claws" because of his long, sharp claws. Why does Santa have long claws, you ask? To climb down the chimney! "A Dozen Bloomin' Roses" is even more morbid than "Sneeze 'n Coffin". Death, shyness, unrequited love and bullies. If it wasn't for the ghostly weirdness in it, I'd say this was pretty much a song by The Smiths! "Tonsil Eye 'Tis" is one of the weirdest stories I've ever read of Paul Jennings'. It features creepy garden gnomes, nose hairs, third eyes and red chocolate sprinkles. Need I say more? "Unhappily Ever After" features a nasty school headmaster get his comeuppance. It really gives the term "tides have turned" a whole new meaning, actually. Fairly short story. "Spooks Incorporated" features a little Australian folklore, plus a big scene of Melbourne's Yarra River, which is pretty cool. It's all about a couple of guys who pretend to be ghosts for money. There's a headless, singing chicken in there as well... "The Copy" features a boy gets himself cloned, the clone soon trying to take over his life. It's been done a lot of times, yeah, but it's done really well here. "Stuffed" has a hero who feels sorry for the cane toads of Queensland. It's a weird hero to have for an Australian story, as most Australians hate cane toads (they are an introduced species here and are something of a pest). Still, it's fairly interesting, this story. "No is Yes" is a tale you could almost call a science fiction story. It features a man who has raised his daughter in isolation, teaching her a language opposite to English. Yes is no, no is yes, boy is girl, girl is boy, fork is chicken, etc. Pretty clever one, actually. The ending gets you thinking. Not your typical Paul Jennings book, I don't think, but still definitely worth a read. Newcomers to Jennings might want to read "Unbelievable" or "Uncanny" first, though.

This is a great book to read for you children or the children read it themselves.I love this book its a a couple of Paul Jennings great stoies and i have realy enjoyed it and i hope you enjoy it aswell.1 Sneeze 'coffin 2 Santa claws 3 A dozon bloomin' roses 4 Tonsil eye 'Tis and 5 more great stores