Tails You Win: An Anthropomorphic A to Z of Dogs

I'm going with a middle of the scale rating because this collection, Tails You Win from Gill Rowe, was just that, middling. It neither met my initial expectations nor gave me a reasonable set of expectations that I could say it met.

I was expecting something a little on the cute side. This is a book written from the dog's perspective so even any meaningful tidbits weren't going to be deep. This isn't that type of poetry and to think it would be deep is more a comment about you than the book. That said, the poems were not really particularly cute or poignant. They lacked anything that made them stick in my mind after reading them. And I am that dog-lover that some people would buy the book for.

On the flip side, with the exception of some questionable decisions about what "attributes" to highlight, there isn't a lot to necessarily dislike here. While the poems are not great works of literary merit (did anyone really expect that?) they are not horrible pieces of poetry either. Again, as a likely recipient of such a book, I would not have been unhappy receiving it.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Thought these poems were really cute. Actually learned things about the breeds I didn’t know and I loved the drawings throughout, although would have loved a drawing for each dog.

A fine collection of poems and line drawings for all manner of breeds of dog lovers. Each poem is a glimpse into the nature of the eponymous canine, coupled with a portrait.

This was a cute little poetry collection. I liked how each dog's voice was distinctive and it had a cute and heart warming message at the center. This book would make a wonderful stocking filler gift for someone as it is short and very, very sweet.

Cute poems, this is the kind of book that I would add to my collection of dog books already on my coffee table. I wish it had more illustrations, and what about Border Collies, Corgis, German Shepherds and Chihuahuas? Cute over all though if you're a dog lover.

I have a couple of students who are crazy about dogs. I may select particular poems in this book to work on appropriate pace and fluency with repeated readings. The poems are cute, though some of the rhyming doesn't feel overly natural. The drawings are lovely, but not what I expected based on the cover illustration. I received this book as an ARC from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The illustrations scattered throughout this book are so incredibly sweet! It's a fun, quick read in the mind of different dog breeds. Definitely a book to recommend for those who are a fan of dogs and poetry!

A truly wonderful Book of Poems about our Canine Friends & Companions from their perspective about their own Breeds High & Low points. I especially liked the one about the Bagel ( & yes this is a Breed it's a cross between a Beagle & a Basset Hound ). I also greatly enjoyed those about The Old English Sheep Dog ( Dulux Paint Dog ) & finally The Yorkshire Terrier.
For anyone who has or does own Dogs this is a delightful Book to read.

This book is a short read, with a dog of every (well almost every) breed coming on and telling a short poem about their own breed’s features. I’m the lucky furparent of a loving Labrador and I swear I can hear his voice as he tells how much he loves food. :D

To be honest, there were a few breeds I had never heard of but for most of the ones I knew, the poems did seem quite in character.

I’ll say I’m probably not the best judge of English poetry form, being that I speak French first, but I did really enjoy that book. Perfect fun gift for any dog lover!

A collection of humorous and witty poems "Tails You Win" is a fun way to spend your evening!

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book. The book is a selection of poetry and each poem corresponds to a certain breed of dog. I loved the way it was written and I enjoyed reading this a lot! The verse form gave the information a bit more edge and made it much more fun and dynamic to read and I got to know about a lot of dog breeds that I didn’t know about before! If the author releases a similar collection about cats, I would be the first to buy! All in all, it was fresh reading poetry that doesn’t talk about love and loss and all these depressing things, but rather gives you a smile and makes you wanna get a dog if you don’t have one. This poem made me fall in love with Pointers and Vizslas and I hope to be able to have one someday.

I was intrigued by the concept of this poetry collection and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by it. I was in the mood for something fun that would make me smile and this collection certainly did that. Each poem in this collection address a different breed a dog (granted, not every breed is represented) and works through the alphabet.

Each poem's language and format is tailored to the breed as well, so a breed that may be more active and quick in mannerisms has a poem with short lines and quick paced stanzas. Breeds that are considered more regal or prim will have a different style.

All in all this was exactly what I needed and put a smile on my face.

If you are a dog lover you will love this book of poems about our best friends, dogs!! This book covers all different breads and each poem is tailored to their personality and special traits. Really sweet drawings of dogs accompany some of the poems.

Just a tad bit mad that there wasn't anything about German Shepherds but otherwise I think it's pretty informative in a fun way.

A nice collection of poems about our canine friends and some lovely illustrations Togo with some of the poems too . A nice collection for the dog lover in your life.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This was a book of poems about the different breeds of dogs. Most of the poems were short and very easy to read. The book itself was a quick read. The poems were nice and written well. There were some drawings as well that were nice. Somehow, even though it was written nicely, it just did not engage me. But it was written well. If you like dogs and poetry, you would probably enjoy this book.

I am a huge fan of cats. I do like dogs. But I was intrigued to see how this book would work - poetry about dogs. Very interesting concept - alphabetical order of dog breeds. I enjoyed the pictures when I wasn’t sure what dog breed it was and there was quite a few breeds I wasn’t even aware of. Quick and entertaining.

I LOVE dogs, so I simply had to read this collection of poems about them.


It was fairly entertaining, though I have to admit that I expected something a bit more funny, and maybe a bit better rhymes, too. I don't know. It was okay, though.


This book's strength is how well it characterizes the different breeds. Not only with the words themselves but also with the versification and style. I loved this aspect! This should have been a game when one reads the poem and the other dog-lover should guess which breed 'talks'

'Tails You Win' is an adorable collection of poetry by Gill Rowe, all with a common theme - do9s!
It is the seventh book of original metric rhyming verse by Rowe and contains several beautiful illustrations. Each poem is told from the perspective of the dog described (eg a basset hound talking about himself) and are hilarious. I loved the drawings aswell which are all hand-drawn.
If you are a dog fan, then I absolutely recommend that you read this book.
I just reviewed Tails You Win by Gill Rowe. #TailsYouWin #NetGalley

Delightful Ditties For Dog Lovers....
A delightful collection of ditties for dog lovers. A plethora of dogs and a plethora of rhymes from the perspectives of the dogs themselves. Equally delightful hand drawn illustrations complete the package.

This book was so much fun! I'm a big dog lover, so reading through each poem was a joy. The author really captures each breed's unique and distinct traits and personalities, and I laughed and totally agreed when I came across poems about dogs that I've had in the past. (How accurate is that Springer Spaniel poem? And the Labrador one! Gold.)

While I didn't love all the poems, and some of the rhyming was a bit jarring, for the most part it was an enjoyable read, and I could see it sitting on the coffee table for guests to flick through and find the poems about the dogs they have. And probably agree with every word.

As someone of the canine persuasion, I jumped at the opportunity to read this entertaining collection of poems. I enjoyed how the personalities of some of the breeds came through. Some were not quite as clear.
I strongly believe the book would have benefited from pictures of each of the different breeds. It would have allowed for a more fluid read rather than the ‘stop and search google’ method I found myself using for breeds that I was unfamiliar with. I found it lacked some common breeds which perhaps may have fleshed it out some more.
In summary: A perfect bathroom read or coffee table book for the canine lover in your life.

Great idea and I’m sure some dog lovers will greatly enjoy the supposedly breed-specific poetry. I’m afraid I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps the author took on too many subjects...many of the selections seemed terribly weak.

This was such a lovely read. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves dogs like I do. It will stand up to repeat readings, and I look forward to dipping back in again in the future.

This was a pleasant, quick little read that opened my eyes to just how many different breeds of dogs there are, most of which I had no idea even existed. Going into this, I thought it was going to be a poetry collection in the same vein as Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, but surprisingly this was a much more practical take on the genre of animal-based poetry.

It’s simple enough that kids may find these poems enjoyable, but this didn’t offer up much of anything else I’m afraid.

This was a cute book, but nothing exceptional. Written from the perspective of the dogs, which was definitely unique, I didn't fall in love with it like I'd hoped to.