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Pinkerton #3
Tallyho, Pinkerton
Pinkerton and his feline sidekick bump into Dr. Aleasha Kibble and her Hunting Academy out for fox, but the striped fox looks remarkably like a skunk
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
About the author
Steven Kellogg
168 books180 followersSteven Kellogg is an author and illustrator who has contributed over 90 books for children. He is best known for writing books about animals, for which he credits his grandmother .
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 29, 2025
I highly recommend any book written by or illustrated by Steven Kellogg, and the Pinkerton series is my favorite. The stories are zany fun and the detailed pictures are wonderful. I just wish I had a grandchild to go over them to point out each funny part in the pictures.
In this book the little girl for homework is supposed to go on a field trip and identify ten different birds and mammals. She takes along her mom, Pinkerton the Great Dane, and her cat (pets off leash, so what could go wrong?).
The first thing they see is a scarlet tanager. As a bird fan that has me wanting to go on a quest to see one, but I see they only migrate from South America through North Carolina on their way to places further north. And they migrate at night! Sigh, good to have things to work at.
Anyway, it just so happens as it often does that a hunting school lands their balloon with a group of hunters in the path of Pinkerton's group. The side of the basket on the balloon reads 'Dr Aleasha Kibble's Fox Hunting Academy. The hunters set up funny signs to keep people away, like one that reads 'leave at once. Go Away. BEAT IT. TAKE OFF!' Somehow Pinkerton and the scarlet tanager wind up in the balloon and it gets untethered.
Meanwhile the one lady is teaching the other 3 about the types of foxes and tells the girl 'We can't be bothered by stray animals. We're looking for the noble red fox. The dogs and hunters take off after Rose the cat, shoot up the tree the cat is in, hit the balloon, have the dog fall on them making them exclaim 'It's an invasion from outer space. Run for your lives!'
Fortunately everyone is unhurt, and the hunters go off to hunt and find a 'very rare striped fox.'
Great fun story, but you need to get your hands on the book to see the amazingly great pictures to go with the story.
In this book the little girl for homework is supposed to go on a field trip and identify ten different birds and mammals. She takes along her mom, Pinkerton the Great Dane, and her cat (pets off leash, so what could go wrong?).
The first thing they see is a scarlet tanager. As a bird fan that has me wanting to go on a quest to see one, but I see they only migrate from South America through North Carolina on their way to places further north. And they migrate at night! Sigh, good to have things to work at.
Anyway, it just so happens as it often does that a hunting school lands their balloon with a group of hunters in the path of Pinkerton's group. The side of the basket on the balloon reads 'Dr Aleasha Kibble's Fox Hunting Academy. The hunters set up funny signs to keep people away, like one that reads 'leave at once. Go Away. BEAT IT. TAKE OFF!' Somehow Pinkerton and the scarlet tanager wind up in the balloon and it gets untethered.
Meanwhile the one lady is teaching the other 3 about the types of foxes and tells the girl 'We can't be bothered by stray animals. We're looking for the noble red fox. The dogs and hunters take off after Rose the cat, shoot up the tree the cat is in, hit the balloon, have the dog fall on them making them exclaim 'It's an invasion from outer space. Run for your lives!'
Fortunately everyone is unhurt, and the hunters go off to hunt and find a 'very rare striped fox.'
Great fun story, but you need to get your hands on the book to see the amazingly great pictures to go with the story.
August 4, 2022
In this book, Steven Kellogg introduces readers to Emily, her mom, her great Dane, Pinkerton, and her kitten, Rose and the humorous events that occur as they help Emily complete her homework assignment to identify 10 different birds and mammals. In the woods the group run into a group of hunters searching for a Red Fox. The Red Fox is the fourth item that the little girl must identify. The hunters, however, do not know how to identify the different woodland animals. Their ineptness lends itself to many humorous situations. Suddenly, Rose is in jeopardy. Pinkerton must save her. Does he get there in time? What happens to the hunters? Does the little girl complete her assignment? Little readers must read this book to find out. Young readers will enjoy this funny tale. The illustrations are soft and muted but packed with many hidden clues as context clues.
March 28, 2022
The story of a girl, her mother, her dog, and her cat going out to find some wildlife and running into a snooty fox hunting class.
A fun read with art hiding animals for people to find as the story progresses and a simple but funny story that any kid should be able to enjoy. One might even want to take inspiration from the story and make their own checklist of animals they see before the final page.
A fun read with art hiding animals for people to find as the story progresses and a simple but funny story that any kid should be able to enjoy. One might even want to take inspiration from the story and make their own checklist of animals they see before the final page.
October 17, 2025
These books are, of course, ridiculous. The illustrations are delightful, the text simple, and the stories full of nonsense.
The family decide to go to the woods for a picnic to get some homework done, bringing along Pinkerton and Rose, when they meet up with a school of (inept) fox hunters.
The family decide to go to the woods for a picnic to get some homework done, bringing along Pinkerton and Rose, when they meet up with a school of (inept) fox hunters.
May 4, 2019
Quirky story about a large dog, a girl and a fox hunt.
February 28, 2024
Such a fun read and the illustrations are adorable!
November 1, 2023
Emily got home from school with the assignment of a field trip to identify ten different birds and animals. She took her great dane, Pinkerton, and her cat Rose with her. In the forest they encountered a group of adults in a hunting class. Young readers will be amused that the hunters can't identify the animals they see. Great illustrations for this entertaining story.
February 27, 2019
Pinkerton's little girl has to find 10 birds and mammals. Her mother, Pinkerton, Rose, the cat, and she go for a walk in the woods. They find a scarlet tanager which Pinkerton promptly chases. The girl and her mother follow them. Meanwhile a hot air balloon lands in the woods. It is filled with would-be fox hunters. While they are putting up signs warning people to keep away from their balloon and be quiet while the fox hunt is in progress, Pinkerton gets in the balloon and sail away. The hunters mistake Rose for a fox. They shoot, miss the cat, and hit the balloon. Pinkerton lands right on top of all the hunters. The hunters leave in a huff. The girl, her mother, Pinkerton, and Rose settle down for their picnic. They see the hunters hot on the trail and go to investigate. They have cornered a rare striped fox. The girl tries to point out that the fox is really a skunk, but she is ignored. The hunters are sprayed. The girl is dismayed because it is getting dark and she hasn't completed her list. Then they return to their picnic and find every kind of woodland animal eating their food.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com
August 30, 2012
This book is clearly from a series about Pinkerton, the Great Dane. It didn't work particularly well as a bedtime story for my little guy because the pictures are fairly complex and it's written in comic book style, which means the reader really has to be able to put the pictures and the text together to get the full story. I think this would be a fun book for an older reader, though, because there is a lot to see in the pictures and many jokes at the expense of grown-ups.
ETA March 2019: L checked out a bundle of dog books from the library and this was one of the books. Oddly, it was only when I logged on to Goodreads to write this review that I realized I had read this book before. It obviously didn't make much of an impression the first time around because I didn't remember it when I re-read it. I was correct in my earlier notes on this book, though: it definitely does work much better for older readers. S (7) and L (4) understood how the pictures helped to tell the story and were amused. L was very confused about foxhunting, though, which is probably for the best!
ETA March 2019: L checked out a bundle of dog books from the library and this was one of the books. Oddly, it was only when I logged on to Goodreads to write this review that I realized I had read this book before. It obviously didn't make much of an impression the first time around because I didn't remember it when I re-read it. I was correct in my earlier notes on this book, though: it definitely does work much better for older readers. S (7) and L (4) understood how the pictures helped to tell the story and were amused. L was very confused about foxhunting, though, which is probably for the best!
October 5, 2010
This is a nice, fun story with better than average illustrations by Steven Kellogg. Pinkerton is a funny dog, and I can see for sure why his adventures have been followed by picture book readers since the first of the books about him was published.
As is usually the case in Steven Kellogg's books, the depth of the illustrations is what stood out to me most. Each page tells what amounts to sort of a story within the story, which is ideal for young picture book readers, who tend to be more observant about illustrated content than would be your average chapter book reader.
I would give one and a half stars to Tallyho, Pinkerton!
As is usually the case in Steven Kellogg's books, the depth of the illustrations is what stood out to me most. Each page tells what amounts to sort of a story within the story, which is ideal for young picture book readers, who tend to be more observant about illustrated content than would be your average chapter book reader.
I would give one and a half stars to Tallyho, Pinkerton!
December 6, 2016
Emily, her mom, Pinkerton (the Great Dane puppy), and Rose (the kitten) go for a picnic in the woods so that Emily can identify birds and mammals for her homework. The dim-witted, long-winded, short-tempered dog trainer from the original Pinkerton picture book is back, and she ruins this book too. What pack of adults can't tell the difference between a fox and a skunk? But Pinkerton's ride is fun, and so is the ending.
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December 31, 2010A young girl and her mom take a picnic lunch while the girl finds mammals and birds for homework. When the cat and dog go along, an inept fox hunting class mistakes Rose for a fox and a skunk for a striped fox. Pinkerton flies high.
Typical Kellogg. Exceptionally funny. Children will enjoy laughing at the 'dumb adults'.
Typical Kellogg. Exceptionally funny. Children will enjoy laughing at the 'dumb adults'.
March 25, 2018
I love Steven Kellogg's art
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January 15, 2011A childhood favorite rediscovered.
July 16, 2013
2-star story but an extra star for the great illustrations!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews