The Long and Short Tail of Colo and Ruff

Colo the cougar and her friend Ruff jump and play together, but they find that Ruff can’t jump nearly as far as Colo. Ruff doesn’t have a long, swishy tail like Colo does, to provide balance on long leaps. Ruff is a bobcat and his tail is much shorter. He is sure that something is wrong with him. The sympathetic Colo suggests that they go find a tail that Ruff would like better, so off they go. As the two kittens explore the variety of tails worn by other animals, they make the best discovery of all.

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Diane Lang volunteers at two different nature centers where she gives programs and classes to share nature with young children-and that love of sharing nature led her to her writing picture books. In addition to authoring The Long and Short Tail of Colo and Ruff for Arbordale, Diane's other books include Daytime, Nighttime, All Through the Year; Vulture Verses, Love Poems for the Unloved and Fur, Feather, Fin: All of Us Are Kin. Diane lives in California with her husband and several beloved pets-a gentle snake, two dogs, two tortoises, and two sweet tarantulas.