This book is great for a lower grade class to read on the carpet. Its another way if teaching The Ugly Duckling. Little Puglia is cracked open and clearly isn't a duck. His Mom and Dad put a duck suit on him and send him out to play. Each day he comes back crying. They tell him to show them all the different things that he can do, bark, catch a ball, and be a friend. When a fox comes against him, who do you think is the one that saves he day? This is such a sweet way of showing you can just be yourself with others.

We read ‘The Pugly Duckling’ last night, my little one enjoyed the story of the sad puppy and wondered how a puppy could hatch from an egg. And I was simply amazed by the uniqueness and weight of this seemingly ordinary children's book. The moment we are aware of the uniqueness of other individuals, we will gain awareness of our value, and when we accept everyone as a part of life we ​​will understand the message that is so effectively woven into every effectively chosen word in this picture book.
No two people are the same.
They can look different, sound different, dress differently. They may have different customs, cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and religions. They may have different abilities. They can live in different houses or different families.
Children need to learn that being different is normal.
As children grow, they learn from their parents. That is why this book is a real treasure and should be a part of every family library. A story that conveys the true wisdom of diversity in a very simple and interesting way. John the pug is a great character, who is a very effective way to shows the emotional side of this problem of being different. How can one feel when he is different when he is ridiculed when he is not accepted by the environment. This character can greatly contribute to the development of empathy for others. And the illustrations are just fantastic, not only will they capture and retain your child's attention, but they will also help the child visualize and relate the story to a picture. The book additionally offers huge opportunities that allow you to involve the child in conversation and to discuss topics that are certainly present in your daily life. Surely at least once your child has asked you a question like "Why is that person in a wheelchair?", "Why does that person have different skin color than me?" or "Why does that person wear funny clothes?", and this wonderful picture book offers you the opportunity to discuss all those questions, to encourage the child to think critically and to draw his conclusions.
A fantastic picture book that should be a must-read for all children. Easy to follow and with the right language structures, this picture book is a great choice for a good night story or a lazy, afternoon read.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Pugly Duckling is an Ugly Duckling story with a twist - the duckling is actually a pug! This is such a cute and funny story about two ducks who long for a duckling and then one day become parents to the biggest and strangest duckling of all - John the Pug.
John longs to be like the other ducklings and they don't want to play with him not because of his looks but because they know he's not a duck and think he's trying to fool them all and lie about who he truly is. John's parents tell him to to just be himself but he doesn't listen, until one day John becomes a hero by being his true self and then he learns a valuable lesson to just be who you are.
The illustrations in this book are so cute and funny and I loved the rhyming silliness of this book. Children will have such a fun time reading it!

What a great, encouraging story about being born different and accepting who you are! The graphics were appealing, the story was easy for early readers (though a bit repetitive) and the story line was easy to understand. We cheered for John and his bravery!

The Pugly Duckling was super cute! The message behind being yourself is always a great one for kids books. The rhyming and silly words is also a fun idea. As a mom to a toddler, I can confidently say this would quickly become a favorite in our household.

My pug loving heart is happy!

This story is adorable and funny. I loved John the pug and the positive message about being yourself.

We all need this precious book, whether we’re four or forty. 2020 may have been a trying year, but it still gave us the soothing balm of great books, including this one!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my digital review copy.

A book about being true to yourself and not trying to be what you aren't. This is a great book for kids. The illustrations and silly rhymes and words make it a fun read-aloud that will be enjoyed by little kids. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Pugly duckling 🤗

It’s an story to teach you to be who you are.
It’s funny, the illustrations are very cute 😍

My nephew was an bit confused that pugly came out of an egg 🤔😬
He just learned on school that dogs are mammals...

But he loved it either way 🤗

Definitely an recommendation

This is a very cute children's book about an ugly "duckling" named John. It is a great story for kids about being true to yourself and using your gifts, whatever they are.

A cute spin on the typical ugly duckling story. Great messages on the importance of being yourself for children. Colorful pictures throughout.

I think the story is very cute, and sends a good message about staying true to yourself and your own abilities and eventually people will see the true value in you.

I think this picture book was a bit quick in comparison to some others that I have read to my nieces, and they didn’t seem to like it as much.

A cute story with an original concept. Pugs are very popular right now and I could see readers gravitating towards this title for that reason. The illustrations look a little amateurish, but overall well executed.

Who doesn't love those alien-looking pugs? Well, it seems that some ducklings don't appreciate how ugly cute they are and John the Pug eagerly waits for the day he turns into a beautiful swan so he can fit in with the others. Only as it turns out, it's always better to be who you are! A perfect book for children that teaches that all you have to do to fit in is be yourself!

A very cute story about valuing yourself even when you are different. My kids liked the pug and the ducklings that he eventually befriended, but they did have trouble with the idea of a dog being born from an egg.

The illustrations in this book are cute and very wonderfully done. They go along with the story perfectly! I wasn't a fan of John being hatched from an egg.....but I was a fan of how cute he was in his little duck suit and how he decided he was good enough being himself.

The Pugly Duckling is an adorable book about a pair of ducks who long for a baby, when they finally get their wish he's a little different to what they expected.
The story is about accepting yourself and not worrying about what others think.
I read this to my 4 year old son and we both loved the story and the illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Indigo River Publishing for my copy.

I wanted to love this book. I mean, look at the cover! Look at that little pug! It's adorable and part of me did like it. It's a sweet story about a bird couple and their adopted child and it imparts an important lesson about being yourself and accepting who you are. The book is full of alliteration and onomatopoeic words which would appeal to younger children and the illustrations are great.

However, this book would seriously get on my nerves if I had to read it regularly to a small child who adored it. There are only so many times I can read the phrase "ugly-wugly" before I want to cry and the other duckings were so mean to the pug! More importantly, DOGS DON'T HATCH FROM EGGS. Plot device or not, it's stupid and I'd be explaining to any child who reads this story how dogs are mammals, not birds, and thus don't come from eggs! Seriously, the pug could have been adopted by the birds in any other way! It didn't need to be shoved into an egg!

All in all, I could see why kids would like this... But as a parent, I'm not convinced I'd buy it for them.

What a great book to read to your children to teach them about individuality and being themselves. The world we live in can be scary, and children can feel sad or disappointed when they are not like others. The Pugly Duckling shows children that being your true self is the best you can be! Poor John just wanted to fit in with the ducklings, but being a dog made him that much more loveable!

Oh my goshhhhhh....too much cute in one little book!

John the Pug learns self acceptance in this cutie-patooty story about owning who you are and loving yourself exactly as you are.

Gorgeous, fun and engaging photographs will engage littles as they learn big lessons.

I loved it!

Thank you to Indigo River Publishing for giving me an ARC of this book. It was my pleasure to write an honest review.

I read it with my son who loves dogs. Talks quite a lot about the importance of family and support even when there might be many differences.
I loved how the ducks broke their barriers and became brave, too.

Will keep this copy on Kindle for regular reading. It might become my son's new favorite!