A timely tale of an unruly tail... and a family that just doesn’t understand.

Dex is not like the other dogs in his family, who like to bark and fight and dig. Dex likes to chat and play and paint, and when he does, his tail wags like crazy – much to the embarrassment of his family. Dex tries his hardest to control his exuberant tail, but at what cost?

A joyful encounter in the park turns sour and Dex‘s Dad is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about the perils of repression.

This is a timely story about the value of emotional intelligence, told with a lightness of touch that belies its serious message. Award-winning illustrator Katie Brosnan brings the journey to life in her vibrant, trademark style. A big book with a big heart.

C K Smouha was born in Australia and grew up in London and New Jersey. She studied drama at university and worked for many years as a script editor and writer. When she had children of her own, she rediscovered her love of children's literature and began writing children's books. Her first book, Born Bad, was published by Cicada in 2018.

Katie Brosnan is a recent graduate of the Cambridge School of Art Children’s book illustration programme. She is the winner of the Picture This! Walker Books and Lemniscaat award 2018, and was highly commended in the Macmillan Prize for Illustration, 2018. She is the author of Keith Amongst the Pigeons (Child’s Play, 2019) and Gut Garden (Cicada Books, 2019).

Available to purchase online