Tongue-Tied!

by Paul Jennings

A strange and startling new collection from this great teller of fantastic tales. Just a taste - Jason keeps his dead mother's hat as a memento and is fiercely possessive of it, taking it with him to the wildlife sanctuary where his father lives. His father gives him a gruelling task that results in a terrible choice - the hat will save a life and reveal an astonishing truth. In another story, there's a court case to determine the fate of Sandy, the family's smelly dog, and an old man gives new meaning to "speaking through your bottom". Then, when is kissing not kissing? The distinction gets blurred for Jeremy after he buys the love of his life a guppy for her birthday.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Short Stories, Humor

Paperback

First published July 4, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Paul Jennings was born in Heston near London, and at the age of 6 emigrated to Melbourne, Australia on a boat. He was on the boat for 5 weeks with his family. He attended Bentleigh West Primary School and Caulfield Grammar School.

After graduating from school, he went to Frankston Teachers College (now part of Monash University) and became a teacher. He taught students at Frankston State School, Kangaroo Flat State School, the Turana Youth Training Centre, and the Royal Children's Hospital State School in Mount Eliza. He later went on to study at the Lincoln Institute of Health Science (now part of LaTrobe University) and became a speech pathologist, then worked as a Lecturer in Special Education at Burwood State College (now part of Deakin University). In 1979 he became Senior Lecturer in Language and Literature at Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (now part of Deakin University).

In 1985, Jennings' first book of short stories, Unreal! was published, during which he worked as a lecturer and wrote part-time; in 1989, he made the decision to devote his full time to writing. Many of his short stories, published between 1985 and 1991, were also adapted into the first and second series of the popular Australian television show Round the Twist.

Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (2000).

Reviews

[Annaleise Byrd]

These short stories were all ones I hadn't read before. They were an unusual mix - some classic Paul Jennings fare featuring favourite kid-humour topics like farts and kissing, but also some more serious stories about death (of animals and, in one story, the main character's sibling). Some stories were short but at least two were quite lengthy. It was interesting to read more of Jennings' work as I'm a long-time fan, but overall I prefer the 'Un' books. (For the record, my 9yo and 6yo sons enjoyed all of these stories and then wanted to hear them again - so maybe it was just that I came to this book with preconceptions and they didn't!)

[Megan]

well i relly like paul jennings so i really enjoyed this book aswell. ;) xoxxo

[Emkoshka]

My last book for 2023 and also the end of my Paul Jennings retrospective, which took me 14 months but was a worthwhile passion project for the trips it gave me back into childhood memories. This being a more recent collection (2002), I hadn't actually read it but all the familiar Jennings themes were there — teenage crushes, being bullied, friendship, families broken and reunited, being kind to animals, growing up in the country — along with big dollops of mayhem, magic, puns and wry endings. 'Shake' is by far the standout story in this collection; it's magical and beautiful and moving.

[Diane]

Some great twists in these short stories.

[Reba Maxwell]

the one about the kid who has glow in the dark teeth IYKYK

[Phoebe]

Read this for nostalgic reasons really: I picked this up because I glanced at the author and realised that he was the same person who'd written "Quirky Tales", one of my favourite creepy books when I was younger.

My expectations of this book weren't too high as it is very childish and obviously not directly intended to be read by people my age so I wasn't too harsh or critical when reading this.

Although some of the stories in this were pretty good, particularly "Shake", "The Hat" and "Tongue-Tied" itself, they were funny more than anything else, not creepy and unsettling like the ones in "Quirky Tales". I was a little disappointed as I expected more of these kinds of stories but it was still a decent, easy read nonetheless.

I liked the inclusion of the picture in "Spot the Dog", as well as the code from the author to be deciphered at the end of the book; I wpuld've enjoyed this if I'd read it as a child.

[Jane]

Paul Jennings visited my primary school in 2004. He was very funny, and afterwards i immediately started reading his short stories. Some were really sad and even made me cry, especiallly "The Hat"[ its better than the title sounds!] but some could be much improved.

[Charlie]

This is a great book which has many mini stories inside.
There are some very funny stories inside and one of my favourites is Lenni lighthouse. It's a great story and is super funny.
Hope you all have enjoyed it.

[Loren]

This hilarious collection of short stories by Paul Jennings was a delight to read! I would certainly recommend it to older primary-aged children. I think they'd find it very entertaining. My personal favourites were 'The Hat', 'Spot the Dog' and 'Hailstone Bugs'.

[G]

I read this book years and years and years ago and I just wanted some nostalgia from my childhood so I picked up an old copy at the Brisbane Bookfest, and honestly its still one of the best books I've ever read!

[ninjaa♥]

i think this book was very interesting

nd think that is very good for children in yr 6 to 5

[Oliver fields]

it very funny so far i'm reading lennie lighthouse

[Resa Simanu]

It was filled with humor and when I read this I was about 10 so I was easily entertained

[Max]

Good book

[Alisha Brook]

Very funny.

[Stellabowles]

i want to be able to read this book online

[Yashna]

one of my favourite from the author

[Sahil (w7)]

It was funny.

[Tayla]

I read it a long time ago so I can't really remember it that well.

[Mike.q]

funny