The Scallywags

(back cover)

Sometimes it can be hard to behave properly if you're a messy, noisy wolf and all you want to do is have fun.

But as the Scallywags learn, if it means losing your friends, then maybe it's time to practice those manners!

(front flap)

When the Scallywags aren't being lazy and shiftless, they spend the day jumping around and clowning around and getting into all kinds of mischief. They make a lot of noise and throw their food around and make general nuisances of themselves. They annoy all the other animals and show the entire world that they simply don't know how to behave. But on one occasion, the Scallywags really overdo it. Now, it seems that they're about to lose all of their friends.

(back flap)

David Melling is an English author and illustrator who has created many delightful books for kids. Among his titles available in North America from Barron's are:

"Meet the Scallywags, a family of nine wolves that's driving the other forest animals crazy ('I sat next to one of them at supper last week,' complains a pig. 'He was so smelly, I couldn't finish eating!'). But when it dawns on the wolves that they're actually being shunned, they decide it's time to learn the ways of polite society, and they surreptitiously study their neighbors. ('Before long most of the wolves knew what to do with... a handkerchief, a toothbrush, and a comb. And some of them could dress nicely and say please and thank you.') The Scallywags become so well groomed and polite that their neighbors do not recognize them and invite them to dine. The free-for-all denouement won't come as much of a surprise, but getting there is more than half the fun. Melling's (Good Knight, Sleep Tight) exuberant pictures bring to mind the expertly orchestrated goofiness and vivid characters of vintage cartoons — it's easy to imagine this book as an animated short. His repertoire of comic expressions is particularly impressive given the size of his animal cast. Every one of the characters, even those in tiny supporting roles, is good for a giggle. Ages 4-7." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The Scallywags are a pack of wolves. When they aren't being lazy and shiftless, they spend the day jumping around and clowning around and getting into all kinds of mischief. They make a lot of noise and throw their food around and make general nuisances of themselves. They annoy all the other animals and show the entire world that they simply don't know how to behave. But after one particularly rowdy episode, the Scallywags learn that if being rowdy means losing your friends, maybe it's time to start practicing some manners. Very funny color illustrations on every page.