Tessa’s Tall Tales

Written by Carolyn Joyce Dodds and illustrated by June Gomez

San Francisco Bay Area native and author, Carolyn Joyce Dodds, creates Tessa’s Tall Tales, a quick-witted, whimsical tale intended for school-age children. Tessa delights in telling tall tales but has she stopped telling the truth altogether? Tessa and her parents must navigate the waters between truth and falsehood without crushing creativity. It is a challenge for all imaginative children. Readers will delight in the adventures of wolf cub Tessa, her parents and friends as fancifully drawn by Academy of Art College graduate, June Gomez.

The author confesses to be an inveterate, storyteller herself. Children are instinctive storytellers often unable or unwilling to distinguish between truths and untruths. The knowing parent encourages their young child’s creative gifts while carefully guiding them away from deceit. Tessa and her parents navigate that journey as the little wolf explores space, seeks pirate treasure and awaits the tooth fairy.

High Praise for Tessa’s Tall Tales

Have you ever wondered what it is like for a child so full of imagination, who craves attention and views the real world as boring with no one to listen? Meet Tessa, a young wolf cub who tells tall tales of adventure, leaving everyone wondering what is true and what is not. Carolyn Dodds delivers a sweet and poignant story as she brilliantly captures the joy of Tessa, her parents’ concerns and the careful way in which they come to a solution without thwarting Tessa’s passion and love of storytelling.

Maribeth Boettcher

Retired teacher, Brentwood Elementary School District Librarian and lover of children’s stories