Here’s Hank – A Short Tale About a Long Dog

Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver's Here's Hank - A Short Tale About a Long Dog is a family story for 6 year olds about a boy trying to earn a dog with his school report.

What happens

Hank wants a dog. His sister Emily has an iguana called Katherine who whips out her tongue and steals the last bite of his roll, and that hardly counts as a family pet.

His dad makes a deal. Every grade goes up, and they'll go to the animal shelter.

Which would be simple if school wasn't so hard. Hank knows a spelling word one minute and forgets it the next. The very first flash card in the box is "friend" and he doesn't even know there's an i in it.

So he does what he always does with a problem. He makes a list.

What comes out of the list is a shark costume, a book report performed in flippers and a snorkel, and the first A of his whole life.

Then comes Cheerio, a dachshund who spins in circles until you can't tell his head from his tail. Then comes the park, and Nick McKelty, who unclips the lead when nobody is looking.

Hank gets the blame. His dad won't stop to hear the explanation.

That's the part that will land at home. Hank isn't naughty and he isn't lazy. He tries very hard, things go wrong anyway, and the grown-up in charge decides he didn't try. Plenty of children know exactly what that feels like.

It's properly funny with it, though. Hank's version of events is entirely his own, and you get the running commentary as well as the things he says out loud (the flash cards live in his least favourite drawer in the house).

This is the second one in the series and it stands on its own. The setting is American, so it's grades, second grade and a report card in a sealed brown envelope, but nothing a six year old will trip over.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Bookmarks Are People Too! is where Hank starts. His class is putting on a play, he badly wants the lead part, and he freezes in the audition.