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Tail Not Included

Name: Tail Not Included
Brand: Arotahi Agency
SKU: 9781761216794
Price: 21.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

By Michael Debenham

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Brief Description

A hilariously offbeat, mostly underwater adventure about a girl who finally meets her absent father – only to discover that he's not exactly human. Winner of the Ampersand Prize! Aside from her school burning down (twice!), Becky's life is fairly predictable – and that's just how... Read More

Format: Paperback / softback

$21⁹⁹

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Releases 19^th July 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order "Tail Not Included" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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Tail Not Included

$21⁹⁹

In this hilarious middle-grade novel, 13-year-old Becky discovers that her long-lost dad is actually a merman!

Description

A hilariously offbeat, mostly underwater adventure about a girl who finally meets her absent father – only to discover that he's not exactly human. Winner of the Ampersand Prize!

Aside from her school burning down (twice!), Becky's life is fairly predictable – and that's just how she likes it. So when her dad turns up out of the blue, she's not interested in meeting him. After all, he's a total stranger. And kind of strange. But Becky can't help wondering: what's the Ceremony of the Waves he insists on taking her to? Why did he leave her and her mum? Why is he so keen to get into the ocean? And … why does he smell like fish?

From Ampersand Prize-winning debut author Michael Debenham comes this brilliantly funny middle-grade novel, Tail Not Included, perfect for fans of Nat Amoore and Get Your Act Together, Doris Kozlowski by Jo Dabrowski.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781761216794

Publisher: Hardie Grant Children's Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 September 2026

Country: Australia

Imprint: Hardie Grant Children's Publishing

Illustration: Text-only

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 240

Collections

Children's Books Children's Fiction Children’s, Teenage and Educational Kids & YA Pre-orders Michael Debenham Pre-order Books Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date Young Adult

About the Author

Michael Debenham is a freelance writer and musician based in Melbourne. He splits his time between working for hire and writing fiction, and has been the recipient of an ASA Award Mentorship and the Ampersand Prize. Under the cunning alias 'Mike Debenham' he has released two albums of original songs – one for children, one for former children. He can be found at michaeldebenham.net.