Wendle, What Have You Done

by Peggy Perry Anderson

A battery-operated razor, a yard full of obstacles, and an energetic pooch named Wendle turn an ordinary day into a wild, hilarious romp when two mischievous boys decide that if they need haircuts, Wendle does too.

31 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood]

Oh, my GAWD, what a horror show. Now, I know it's a little kid's book with very little text and pictures to make kids laugh, but I feel so bad for Wendle and the cat.

Two little boys get their hair shaved, then watch a Standard Poodle strut by. Of course, the Poodle has a show clip usually called the lion, since the clip was a French way to mock the English. Yeah ... you had to be there ...

Anyway, the boys look at the Poodle, then their Old English Sheepdog, Wendle. I've noticed that Old English Sheepdogs tend to be stuck with horrible names. Seems to be a curse on the breed.

The boys get the bright idea of giving Wendle a Poodle lion clip. What could possibly go wrong? The book answers that question.

After the clip, you see he has a docked tail. Now, some Old English Sheepdogs are born tailless, but many have their tails docked as puppies ... usually without anesthesia, for cosmetic purposes only. Personally, I think if there's no medical reason to dock a tail, it's beyond cruel to cut it off. This book was published in 1994, when no one cared about tail docking.

So, despite the quality of the artwork and the attempt to do something a bit different in a kid's book, I really have issues with it.

[Patsy]

This book has the feel of a book written in the 1960's like ones I read when I was a kid. I didn't enjoy it. The illustrations of the dog are cute, but the people didn't grab me.