The Pugly Duckling is a cute children’s book is about being yourself and not trying to fit it. The story is cute and the illustrations are great and bright.


Thank you Indigo River Publishing and NetGalley for The Pugly Duckling.

Oh. My. Gosh.

The title alone makes this book just ridiculously awesome, let alone the cool concept and even better story.

We meet these two ducks (Joe and Jean, in case you are wondering) and all they want is a baby ducky! But what ends up happening? THEY GET A PUG. He's wrinkly and fluffy and not what a goose is supposed to look like! But they still love him. He's just... a pugly duckling. This tale is absolutely adorable, especially since they accept their pug child for who he is. But then he comes up with a plan and decides to wear a duck costume (because that's obviously the best way to become a duck - dress like one).

This story will warm your heart and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's sweet and a great change of pace for the classic tale. It's super adorable and I absolutely love it!

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Indigo River Publishing for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

The Pugly Duckling by Carla Siravo is a retelling on the well known classic, The Ugly Duckling. One large difference though, a pug dog hatches from the egg! The pug, John, experiences rejection from the other animals and his despair is readily apparent to even the youngest child. The message of resiliency and self worth are shared. You see the power of the importance of believing in yourself and embracing your unique gifts as the story continues. The illustrations are rich, colorful and engaging even for the youngest child but the message is more appropriate for a preschool or early elementary aged child. This will make an adorable addition to a well stocked library.

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

very cute little picture book about being yourself and knowing your own worth. Don't try to be someone you're not, you will just come off as phony. cute artwork :)

This was a sweet and fun book to read. Even my 18 month old stayed engaged through the whole book and loved the rhymes. The heart of the story about loving yourself comes across clearly and John the pug is so lovable. I already have a few kids in mind who will be getting this book for their next birthday.

Thank you to @netgalley, the publisher and author for gifting me this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.


A new, wonderful, pugly take on an old classic. Needles to say my 4-year old is glued to this book. And the second she saw it she wanted it - and since we have a pug she loves the book even more.

It is a nice way to teach the little ones how to be and love yourself.

Great work

This is a funny and heartwarming children's book. I always think that self-acceptance is the most important thing for children to learn early in life. And I think this book will help them with its cute characters.

I love pugs so was excited to give this a try. The Pugly Duckling has a sweet message of being who you are. I enjoyed the whimsical illustrations, but feel other picture books have captured this message better.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a review copy.

This is an adorable undated take on the story of The Ugly Duckling with a cute pug puppy as the star. This is a great way to bring the story to a new genetation.
Many thanks to Indigo River Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Jean and Joe Duck were expecting a baby duck, but when their odd-shaped egg hatches, inside is a pug! He’s got a swirly tail, and big paws, and claws. The other ducks make fun of him and never let him be part of the group, but when he saves them from a fox, they see how wonderful he is, just as he is.

This cute little book teaches about the importance of being yourself and also realizing that others are wonderful just as themselves. Acceptance is an important lesson at any age, and little ones would do well to learn it early.

It’s freshly out, so if you’re looking for fun books to add to holiday storytime, grab it from your favorite indie bookseller or request through your library.

This was such a cute picture book! I loved the Ugly Duckling premise but with a dog. The art was beautiful and adorable. I can't wait to purchase this book and read it to my baby sister over and over again!

This book was adorable! The message was cute, the language play was silly, and the rhymes were fun. The illustrations were beautiful and very colorful. We all know the story of The Ugly Duckling. This twist on the tale encourages you to love yourself, be true to who you are, and that those who love you will love you for you. Very fun to read out loud with littles!

I am a huge fan of pugs and this was the CUTEST kids book. Really loved the message and the illustrations, Great moral about being true to who you are!

Thank you Carla Siravo, Indigo River Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. #ThePuglyDuckling #NetGalley

Loved reading this story! I was smiling throughout. What a lovely message and one that every child needs to hear. I am a big fan of the title of the book - so clever!
I used to work as a teaching assistant and this book would be an excellent read for an interactive and fun circle-time. Definitely a story that could be read multiple times without getting bored quickly.

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.