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Waggit #1
Waggit's Tale
A heart-warming tale about a puppy who finds a new home with a pack of wild dogs when his owner abandons him in New York's Central Park.
283 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
37 people are currently reading
545 people want to read
About the author
Peter Howe
30 books22 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
January 24, 2012
Waggit has been abandoned by his master and has been rescued by a kind team of dogs. He learns to survive in the park and becomes a good hunter, but unexpected things happen making life in the park more difficult.
Reasons why I like this book-
Reason 1- I couldn't stop reading.
Reason 2- There are many dogs in the story.
Reason 3- I could imagine what was happening.
Reason 4- I could feel all the emotions that the dogs were feeling.
Reasons why I like this book-
Reason 1- I couldn't stop reading.
Reason 2- There are many dogs in the story.
Reason 3- I could imagine what was happening.
Reason 4- I could feel all the emotions that the dogs were feeling.
May 30, 2016
Gosh, I feel like a real jerk rating this one star. I’ve had this book on my tbr since I joined Goodreads, so when I noticed the whole series on one of my rare trips to the library I decided to grab it.
I’m sure my younger self would have enjoyed this more; it’s very much the sort of stuff I read when I was eight or nine. The problem was that the writing feels just about on par with how I wrote at nine years old. I honestly wouldn’t recommend this to kids based on how poor the writing is.
Premise wise it’s basically about a bunch of dogs that live in a park in a weirdly cult-like system and don't do much except hate on humans and look for food and get in fights with other groups once in a while. There are some underlying themes about the way humans treat animals that I did enjoy, though.
In a way this series is like the Survivors books, at least plot wise. The Erin Hunter books have their flaws, especially their later books, but never the writing. I’ve grown up reading it and the balance between detail/description and dialogue/character development has always been pretty great.
Now the writing in this book? Yikes. It ticks of pretty much every aspect of bad writing that there is.
It’s so basic and simplistic; a child could have written in this much detail. Everything is told, nothing is shown (i.e. the writing would say things like “so-and-so wanted to do this”, “so-and-so was in love with so-and-so” but never really show it). It’s told in a very distant third person where it’s hard to connect with characters. The dialogue feels forced and again characters just tell you everything that is going on.
The names for things/people/places were absolutely ridiculous. I know this isn’t the only series to have animals make up names for stuff, but this was a whole different level. You shouldn’t need a two page glossary in a middle grade book!
The names for the dogs were awful as well: Magica, Alicia, Gordo… At one point this dog refers to another dog as “a loner” and they’re like “we should name her Alona!” Um, no?
I also had issues with events feeling unrealistic; the entire dog pound situation is cliché and contrived. There’s the cliché dog catcher who hates his job, the headstrong rescuer lady who says “phooey” and is completely perfect… Also Waggit at one point escapes an apartment building, finds his way back, uses an elevator, and manages to find his specific apartment with no trouble.
I will say that I do like the positive message it sent about rescue. If children do pick this up at least they will be receiving a good message.
Because I checked out all three books from my library I’m going to try to finish them, though I likely will not be doing full reviews for them.
I’m sure my younger self would have enjoyed this more; it’s very much the sort of stuff I read when I was eight or nine. The problem was that the writing feels just about on par with how I wrote at nine years old. I honestly wouldn’t recommend this to kids based on how poor the writing is.
Premise wise it’s basically about a bunch of dogs that live in a park in a weirdly cult-like system and don't do much except hate on humans and look for food and get in fights with other groups once in a while. There are some underlying themes about the way humans treat animals that I did enjoy, though.
In a way this series is like the Survivors books, at least plot wise. The Erin Hunter books have their flaws, especially their later books, but never the writing. I’ve grown up reading it and the balance between detail/description and dialogue/character development has always been pretty great.
Now the writing in this book? Yikes. It ticks of pretty much every aspect of bad writing that there is.
It’s so basic and simplistic; a child could have written in this much detail. Everything is told, nothing is shown (i.e. the writing would say things like “so-and-so wanted to do this”, “so-and-so was in love with so-and-so” but never really show it). It’s told in a very distant third person where it’s hard to connect with characters. The dialogue feels forced and again characters just tell you everything that is going on.
The names for things/people/places were absolutely ridiculous. I know this isn’t the only series to have animals make up names for stuff, but this was a whole different level. You shouldn’t need a two page glossary in a middle grade book!
The names for the dogs were awful as well: Magica, Alicia, Gordo… At one point this dog refers to another dog as “a loner” and they’re like “we should name her Alona!” Um, no?
I also had issues with events feeling unrealistic; the entire dog pound situation is cliché and contrived. There’s the cliché dog catcher who hates his job, the headstrong rescuer lady who says “phooey” and is completely perfect… Also Waggit at one point escapes an apartment building, finds his way back, uses an elevator, and manages to find his specific apartment with no trouble.
I will say that I do like the positive message it sent about rescue. If children do pick this up at least they will be receiving a good message.
Because I checked out all three books from my library I’m going to try to finish them, though I likely will not be doing full reviews for them.
September 19, 2021
Adorable!!
September 18, 2008
Parade Magazine in the Sunday paper listed this book as suggested reads for young readers for the summer.
I thought it was neat story with lots of situations explored and resolved.
I would wonder about how young a reader might enjoy it as there is a point where Waggit has to decide to hunt and kill small creatures for survival. Although the telling is discreet as possible, Waggit kills a rabbit. But what a great discussion opportunity - what things does one have to decide to do that one really does not want to but.....
As Waggit is adopted by a dog pack, there are the also good opportunities to talk about when do you do what is good for the group and when do you do what is good for you. What about when the two interests are not mutual?
There are also great points when Waggit is getting older and how he knows this. How he deals with disagreeing with the authority but follows without loosing himself.
I could go on but as it might be clear by now, I thought this was a great book.
I thought it was neat story with lots of situations explored and resolved.
I would wonder about how young a reader might enjoy it as there is a point where Waggit has to decide to hunt and kill small creatures for survival. Although the telling is discreet as possible, Waggit kills a rabbit. But what a great discussion opportunity - what things does one have to decide to do that one really does not want to but.....
As Waggit is adopted by a dog pack, there are the also good opportunities to talk about when do you do what is good for the group and when do you do what is good for you. What about when the two interests are not mutual?
There are also great points when Waggit is getting older and how he knows this. How he deals with disagreeing with the authority but follows without loosing himself.
I could go on but as it might be clear by now, I thought this was a great book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2015
In the story Waggit’s tale a dog named Waggit is abandoned and has no family/ friends. Until Tazar the leader of a pack finds him under a bridge. All the dogs had a story, of how they ended up in the park as a stray. This book is emotional if you love dogs and can also have hint action. The strengths of this book could be the detail, emotion, and how they compare the trouble of a reel stray dog could have. This book shows a lot of friendship and compassion. I would recommend this book for kids and adults of all sorts of ages. I feel that Waggit’s tale by: Peter Howe is a great book and everyone should have a chance to read this extraordinary book.
February 5, 2021
"Waggit's Tale" is a very good book. It is full of action, emotion, sadness, anger, and most of all survival, kindness, and friendship. "Waggit's Tale" is the first first book in the "Waggit" series by Peter Howe. The series order is this: "Waggit's Tale" then, "Waggit Again" and last but not least, "Waggit forever." There are 3 books in the series, atleast that I know of, but if there are anymore books to the series, then I have not heard of the others. I reccomend this book! If you like books about adventure, kindness, animals, and friendship then this book, and series, are perfect for you!
December 12, 2017
This book is an emotional book that follows the journey of an abandoned dog. This book is amazing, with tons of experiences and watching Waggit change over time yet remain the pet he once was was really cool. The ending was so sweet and sad but also happy at the same time. You can really connect with Waggit and all the characters, and that was really impressive of the author. Would definitely recommend this book.
December 29, 2018
Waggit's Tale is about a large white dog and his adventures, fears, triumphs, and just everything about him and his world. I liked the descriptions, and the large amount of dogs, but the words the dogs used to describe things confused me. There is a very helpful glossary, which I wish I had known about sooner. I would recommend this to tweens who like dogs.
July 28, 2008
I highly recommend this wonderful story of a homeless dog. This could be the next Charlotte's Web!!!!!
December 22, 2008
If you have an adopted dog or known an adopted dog, or just love animals you have to read this book. Wonderful!!!!!!
January 4, 2017
This is amazing Book!!!!
June 12, 2024
Quick synopsis
: A city dog is abandoned, finds a new dog-family, then finds a new owner.
Brief opinion : This book was a rollercoaster, but not in a good way. At first I thought it would be a great talking animal book, but I quickly grew to not like it so much. Plus the message it sends in the end is the most confusing part of all.
Plot : A puppy is adopted by a family. Days later the wife gives birth to a baby. The puppy shows curiosity about the baby, so the father abandons the puppy in the park. (Let's ignore all the logic holes of this whole part.)
In the park, the nameless puppy is found by a pack of dogs (in the book it's called a "team" of dogs, which makes sense for city dogs). He gets a name (Waggit, stupidest name ever, because he wags it (his tail) a lot). The dogs teach him how to survive in the "wild" of the park.
There's a war with another team, lots of fight and hunting for food, and more horrible naming. (A loner dog joins the team, so they name her... Alona. A loner. A lona. Ugh.)
All in all, most of these team dogs were abandoned by their humans, and most are really abused/have a hard time as wild dogs, so rightly so they hate humans.
In the end, Waggit gets caught and taken to the pound. A woman adopts him, and nearly instantly Waggit settles down and gets used to being owned again. He makes one trip back to the park to let his team know he's alive and okay, then he settles back into a life of "slavery" because at least that way he gets a warm place to sleep and three meals a day.
Writing/editing : Technical-wise it was fine, but very soon into the story, the dogs seemed really not very dog-like. Their language use was also odd (territory was called a "realm" for example, and all female dogs were "Lady [name]"). I liked "team" instead of "pack", but since the dogs didn't "speak human", how did they pick up "team" to use?
For some odd reason, accents seemed to come and go. The dog characters would sometimes talk very "street" ("I ain't got no time for dis!") and a couple paragraphs later they talked in a normal way.
What I Liked/What I Didn’t Like : The only character I liked was Tazar, the leader of the wild dog team. He was the only character that was more than one-note.
I really, really, really do not understand the message this book was trying to send. Waggit and his pack were in full agreement that being enslaved to humans was the worst possible state for dogs. Life was hard, but the park dogs never starved. But in the blink of an eye, Waggit was fine going back to being under a human's control again. I wish the author would have explained it more (in the story's world, is it the natural state for dogs to want to be owned?). The seeming message (it's okay to not be free as long as you get food and shelter) is uncomfortable to me. (In real life, of course dogs should all have good homes as opposed to living on the street in packs, but the dogs in this book could talk, store food for winter, build simple shelters, plan battles, used newspapers as blankets... they weren't real dogs).
Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disliked / 3-Okay / 4-Liked / 5-Loved : ⭐️⭐️ ½ - 2.5 stars. I didn't like the book, but I didn't hate it either.
Brief opinion : This book was a rollercoaster, but not in a good way. At first I thought it would be a great talking animal book, but I quickly grew to not like it so much. Plus the message it sends in the end is the most confusing part of all.
Plot : A puppy is adopted by a family. Days later the wife gives birth to a baby. The puppy shows curiosity about the baby, so the father abandons the puppy in the park. (Let's ignore all the logic holes of this whole part.)
In the park, the nameless puppy is found by a pack of dogs (in the book it's called a "team" of dogs, which makes sense for city dogs). He gets a name (Waggit, stupidest name ever, because he wags it (his tail) a lot). The dogs teach him how to survive in the "wild" of the park.
There's a war with another team, lots of fight and hunting for food, and more horrible naming. (A loner dog joins the team, so they name her... Alona. A loner. A lona. Ugh.)
All in all, most of these team dogs were abandoned by their humans, and most are really abused/have a hard time as wild dogs, so rightly so they hate humans.
In the end, Waggit gets caught and taken to the pound. A woman adopts him, and nearly instantly Waggit settles down and gets used to being owned again. He makes one trip back to the park to let his team know he's alive and okay, then he settles back into a life of "slavery" because at least that way he gets a warm place to sleep and three meals a day.
Writing/editing : Technical-wise it was fine, but very soon into the story, the dogs seemed really not very dog-like. Their language use was also odd (territory was called a "realm" for example, and all female dogs were "Lady [name]"). I liked "team" instead of "pack", but since the dogs didn't "speak human", how did they pick up "team" to use?
For some odd reason, accents seemed to come and go. The dog characters would sometimes talk very "street" ("I ain't got no time for dis!") and a couple paragraphs later they talked in a normal way.
What I Liked/What I Didn’t Like : The only character I liked was Tazar, the leader of the wild dog team. He was the only character that was more than one-note.
I really, really, really do not understand the message this book was trying to send. Waggit and his pack were in full agreement that being enslaved to humans was the worst possible state for dogs. Life was hard, but the park dogs never starved. But in the blink of an eye, Waggit was fine going back to being under a human's control again. I wish the author would have explained it more (in the story's world, is it the natural state for dogs to want to be owned?). The seeming message (it's okay to not be free as long as you get food and shelter) is uncomfortable to me. (In real life, of course dogs should all have good homes as opposed to living on the street in packs, but the dogs in this book could talk, store food for winter, build simple shelters, plan battles, used newspapers as blankets... they weren't real dogs).
Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disliked / 3-Okay / 4-Liked / 5-Loved : ⭐️⭐️ ½ - 2.5 stars. I didn't like the book, but I didn't hate it either.
October 19, 2022
5 out of 5 stars. 5 out of 5 stars. Every time I come back to read this book, and OMG the way Peter Howe writes is so good and authentic to an extent where you know and get to grips with the characters. There is something so authentic about reading this book and when you pick up a book from the series even if it’s not in order you instantly fall in love with the way he writes and the characters he describes. I cannot wait to get the other books from this author and read the in this series. In the future I will definitely be coming back to re read this book because the way that writes is so good and authentic and even in dark times there is something about Waggit’s Tale gives a light through the dark tunnel.
Also, I now understand why his series is number one in the US and UK!! I’m super excited to read the following books in the series and then read her other works to see what they are like. I also hear that it is now a major motion picture and has a lot of films to go with the books that he has written. So yes it not only a very good, adult fiction book, but his other work will be probably the best mystery books and series but also the best author I’m going to read!! So yes go and read them. It’s a 5 out of 5 star book for me !! Definitely recommend!!!
I think it might be the best book I have read so far this year!! 🌟🌟✨✨🤩
Also, I now understand why his series is number one in the US and UK!! I’m super excited to read the following books in the series and then read her other works to see what they are like. I also hear that it is now a major motion picture and has a lot of films to go with the books that he has written. So yes it not only a very good, adult fiction book, but his other work will be probably the best mystery books and series but also the best author I’m going to read!! So yes go and read them. It’s a 5 out of 5 star book for me !! Definitely recommend!!!
I think it might be the best book I have read so far this year!! 🌟🌟✨✨🤩
May 15, 2017
Waggits tale was a very well thought-out book with a very good plot. It was mainly about how a dog named Waggit got lost from his owner and a group of other dogs found him and let him join in and they were like family and they taught Waggit how to fight and survive against other dogs but something unbelievable happens so you will just have to wait and find out yourself. I liked this book because I thought the plot was cute because Waggit found another home and they taught him the ways. I also liked this book because it showed different point of views from the different dogs and the author made the theme happy and sad at times so I liked the variety of themes. One dislike I have on the book is that at the beginning I thought the plot was going very slow and almost too predictable but in the middle and end it was amazing. I recommend reading Waggits tale if you want to read a fun and cute book with unpredictable endings.
October 2, 2023
This was such a cute book! I quickly loved the different dog characters such as Waggit himself and Lowdown. It's about a young dog (Waggit) who finds himself abandoned as a puppy in a park and is taken in by a pack of other stray dogs who fight for survival among the Uprights (people) and being taken away to the pound or protecting their territory from other packs of dogs. Super sweet and would be a good book for younger kids to read. This sounds like a part of a series but the first book could easily be read as a stand-alone.
June 15, 2024
It is a cute and decent book. It is kid level so the writing is more simplified and the story is in the mind of a dog. The names are odd, but it fits for dogs thinking simplistic. I think it was a bit too simple thinking for dogs since some are pretty intelligent, but it is a kids book. I think it was a cute book overall. It is much like a kids version of Survivor or Warriors. I liked the ending of it being happy and the story not being too sad. There was an unresolved thing with Tashi, but I would take it gets resolved in the next book.
February 20, 2022
This book is the epitome of my childhood. Words can't really describe the feelings I had towards this book as a 9 year old, dog loving child. I have so many fond memories of this book and the other two in the trilogy.
Highly recommend to dog lovers looking for a heartwarming story, and kids who love animals.
Highly recommend to dog lovers looking for a heartwarming story, and kids who love animals.
April 8, 2024
I may not be the target audience any more, but I’ve loved this book since I was a kid scouring the aisles of the library for a worthy read.
Filled with a cast of endearing, lovable characters, Waggit navigates his new life in the park and all it’s dangers of daily survival until he is ultimately confronted with the chance to choose the path that’s best for him.
It’s a comforting and pleasant read filled with atmosphere and endless charm I find myself reaching for year after year.
Filled with a cast of endearing, lovable characters, Waggit navigates his new life in the park and all it’s dangers of daily survival until he is ultimately confronted with the chance to choose the path that’s best for him.
It’s a comforting and pleasant read filled with atmosphere and endless charm I find myself reaching for year after year.
March 18, 2025
I thought it was a little slow but my kids (ages 6 & 8) loved it. We had several dinner conversations about what we thought was going to happen and we all had different ideas of what the perfect ending would be. I guess we’ll be reading the sequels.
October 30, 2017
THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!
October 25, 2018
Quite good
October 22, 2019
It is so fascinating
May 21, 2020
Great book
August 11, 2020
A heart warming story full of heart breaking moments!
Read
September 15, 2020It’s easy to fall in love with this lost pup, Waggit. A heartwarming story full of heart breaking moments!
December 19, 2020
A nice, sweet little children's book.
November 28, 2021
This was my favorite book as a child; I held this as my favorite book for many years.
Read
December 3, 2021I loved this book. It made me feel warm. It was about family, and how just anybody could open up to people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2021
It’s a 4 but for some reason I couldn’t put 4 stars. Anyway it’s a really good book but it is a little slow but I still highly recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews