This is a short book about a potato pug named Pugtato. We meet all of Pugtato’s best spuddies. There is Collieflower, Croccoli, Purrsnip, Brussels snouts, and others. The author uses wordplay throughout. Kids will better understand the silliness with the illustrations. Not many young children know what parsnips and brussels sprouts are. The illustrations will put it together for them, especially the veggies with which they are familiar, such as Croccoli. There is definitely a bit of silliness to be found.

I personally enjoy it when authors play with words, Parents will enjoy the wordplay as much as their kids. The book doesn’t really have an interesting plot beyond meeting Pugtato and his friends. Language plays the lead role and silly illustrations are the sidekick.

If I you are a word person, this is a book you will love to add to your child’s bookshelf. If not, you may find this silly enough to spring for just for the fun of it.

I received an arc copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

Pugtato is back with all his friends! In this book we get to meet them one on one, interacting with Pugtato. The illustrations are so cute! I think my favorite character, besides Pugtato, is Cowbage. Precious. Kids will love the colorful pictures and fun veggie/animal hybrids. I hope there will be more in the future!


Thank you to Sophie Corrigan, Zonderkidz, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the first book and I love the second one as well! Pugtato is a dog/potato, and all of his friends are animal/vegetable hybrids as well. It's a really cute book about friendship and I love the illustrations. I loved the firt book so much my friend bought me a Pugtato mug! I cannot wait to add this book to our oicture book collection!

Puns are fun in this picture that features a mad-up of animals and vegetables. However, I wonder how many of them will go over the kids’ heads who are being read this story. Most likely all of them.

How cute is this book!! Turning veggies found in your garden into your favorite animals?! This will have your kiddos wanting to explore the world of gardening come spring for sure! I loved all the illustrations & how fun & sweet they were & how each friend had a special characteristic to them! A great family read!!!

Pugtato and his vegetable friends show what good friends are and focuses on sharing and helping. Adorable illustrations and fun rhyming story. A quick little book but the children will be captured by the illustrations and linger. So cute and clever!

Downloaded for free via Netgalley; of free will review.

This is definitely a book where they took the pictures and then wrote story around them.


The artwork is cute, silly and adorable. veggies are animals and they're friends. It's cute. I like the artwork it's fun

There are Brussel sprout pigs. It's overall worthwhile to purchase for kiddos or a classroom library either for a reader or to look over illustrations.

This is another pun-filled Pugtato book about being a good friend and how different friends have different qualities that make them special. I liked this one even more than the first Pugtato book. Pugtato, Let's Be Best Spuddies is funny and creative with a positive educational theme, and it's short so it should have no problem holding children's attention.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

My daughters (aged 6 and 4) think this book is so funny. They laughed out loud when I read it to them and instantly asked for it to be read again. The perfect short book for early readers with quirky colourful illustrations and simple but amusing content. Great fun!

Are you looking for a way to teach creative vocabulary, vegetables, and friendship? Then this is your book. THe illustrations and text are easy for young readers/listeners to comprehend and may spark their own creativity to create their own versions of aminals made from fruits and vegetables.

As a homeschool mom of four who feels strongly about the importance of reading with my children, I have read many, many picture books. So I would like to think that I know quality books. And this is definitely one.

The illustrations are superb. But they are also not overly complex. One of my four is quite artistic. I could have shown him a book like this when he was younger, and I think it would have inspired him to create his own similar illustrations. As a teacher, I am always looking to expand books into a new project.

The play on words are very clever. I could also see using this book in a classroom to be jumping point in helping beginning writers to understand the use of puns. Possibly they could create a similar book using fruit. (Bananas kind words have appeal!) The words are carefully chosen. As someone who has taught the "six traits of writing" to students many times, I think there could be a lot of creative projects that could come out of this book.

As for themes, this talks about all the ways that we can be a friend to people. Sometimes they need us to help them have fun. Sometimes we need them to listen. This could also open a lot of discussions with younger kids who sometimes have a hard time discussing their feelings.

The only downfall? This book is rather short. But for any mom who has tried to read a book to a squiggling toddler, I think this book is just right. I could see this book being requested many times as a bedtime read. As I was getting ready to post this review, I discovered that there a few additional titles in this series. I think it would be a fun collection to own.

Thank you to Zondervan and to Zondervan kids as well as NetGalley for letting me read this book. The cover caught my attention. I requested to read it. All opinions are my own.

This lovely story introduces you to Pugtato and their friends. The names are fun to say and make you giggle when you read them. It is an adorably fun and imaginative read.

The art is well drawn and very creative. I personally loved Tweetroot, Purrsnip, and Brussels Snouts.

A review by my 2 year old:
- They did not like Pugtato on the first page (I don't know why Pugtato is a adorable)
- Favorite was Tweetroot
- They LOVED smiling like Croccli.


Thank you to Netgalley and Zonderkidz-Books for the ARC!

Omg this is the cutest children’s book I’ve read in awhile, partly because I’m a pug owner! We love Pugtato and his adventures so I was excited to receive this one. My kids enjoyed it! It was fun to read, the pictures are colorful, the friends all have cute names. Thank you to Zondervan, the author, and NetGalley for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

Holy crap, this is about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

My nephew was so amused by the food-as-animals concept, and we had a lot of fun looking at each and finding the funny. I think the Croccoli was his favorite.

The story itself, of being friends and celebrating each other's uniqueness, was lost on him, but not on me. Absolutely wonderful read, and can be enjoyed over and over, as children love to do.

Thanks to NetGalley and Zondervan for this ARC! "Pugtato, Let's Be Best Spuddies," is a wonderful continuation of the first "Pugtato" story. Humorous and heartfelt, had my children laughing out loud! The rhyming storyline and unique illustrations make for an enjoyable reading experience.

I loved all the veggie and fruit puns from the first book, so I was so happy to see them return with a good amount of positive messages along with them. So cute!

A very cute and kid-friendly book! My kids loved it and were filled with laughter over the pictures.

Another delightful adventure with Pugtato. It's a whole new outlook on vegetables for kiddos. Pugtato knows how to make friends no matter how different they may be. The illustrations will bring a smile to your young readers. It's fun to be a spud

A special thank you to ZonderKidz and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Pugtato, Let's Be Best Spuddies by Zondervan provides adorable combinations of vegetables and well known animals. Young children will be enthralled with the creative illustrations. As a mom to an almost four year old I also appreciated the common repetition of sight words to encourage reading. The book shared important character traits and essential elements of being a kind friend in a humorous way. My little one loved this book and I adored the underlying message. It is never to early to share character traits with our little ones, and this book did just that in an amazing package!

I was provided a free advance reader copy from Zondervan in exchange for my honest review on Net Galley. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

Pugtato, Let's Be Best Spuddies is just so, so cute!!

I grew up with pug, so I always tend to gravitate to pug- themed books. Let me tell you, Pugtato is a character you and your littles are just going to love. The story is cute and is sure to provide you are your youngest readers with some laughs.

My favorite part is all the creative other characters that Pugtato joins throughout the story. I can tell you that little readers are going to love seeing the fun combinations between animals and vegetables!

I am crossing my fingers that this one becomes a board book, as well as a picture book. I can see it being popular in both formats!