Thursday, February 8, 2018

Pug Power!

It seems that every time I turn around a new books is being released about a pug dog. Now don't get me wrong, these little guys are cute in an ugly way, but it feels like they are they are getting more than their turn in the spotlight. Even Disney has jumped on the bandwagon with the release of Puppy Dog Pals, featuring an adorable pair of pug brothers. Beyond the non-fiction and picture book market, early chapter books have also been jumping on the pug bandwagon. Is this a trend? If so, don't tell my miniature schnauzer who is sure to get jealous! Many existing series are featuring a pug installment. Here are two new series centered solely around this lovable canine.
Image result for pug pals twos a crowd cover

Pug Pals: Two's a Crowd
Flora Ahn
Scholastic Press, 2018 121 pages
Grades 1-3
Animal Story/Graphic Hybrid
Pug Pals series #1

Life is pretty good for Sunny. She has her routine, toys, and person to herself. Life is rocked when a new puppy enters the small family and Sunny is told that Rosy is her new sister. Rosy is too rambunctious and ruins everything, including losing Sunny's favorite toy Mr. Bunny. Sunny finally can take it no longer and decides that Rosy has to go. It is then that she discovers that Rosy left on her own accord: to find Mr. Bunny. Now Sunny feels fiercely loyal to her little sister and must muster up all of the courage that she has to venture through the neighborhood to find her missing sib.

Children with younger sibling will completely relate to Sunny's predicament. Animal lovers will enjoy Sunny's stodgy ways, Rosy's exuberant personality, and the melting of the big sister's heart. I thought Sunny was a boy until page 113, when the pronoun "her" is finally used, indicating gender. This will allow boys to comfortably read the story and helps it to remain gender neutral. Heavily illustrated, the black and white drawings by the cartoonist-author steal the show. Ahn manages to convey emotion and humor in her drawings that enhance the text and are sure to entertain the reader and keep pages turning. A series opener that is sure to find an audience.
Image result for cowboy pug james cover

Cowboy Pug: The Dog Who Rode for Glory
Laura James
Eglantine Ceulemans, Illustrator
Bloomsbury, 2017 115 pages
Grades 1-3
Humor/Graphic Hybrid
The Adventures of Pug series #2

After spending the first installment of the series on the high seas, Lady Miranda and Pug are off on a cowboy adventure. When Lady Miranda's stick horse breaks, she requires a ride in a sedan chair carried by her two footmen to the stables for a new horse, this time a live one. Once at the stables Miranda and Cowboy Pug meet the owner's son, a budding, yet fumbling, magician. Our two adventurers find themselves accidentally whisked away to the country fair with a horse, which they arrange to buy from the Magician's dad. One crazy mishap and misunderstanding follows another until the day ends peacefully with jam tarts and a promise to abandon the cowboy life and to try something new, which will lead to Pug's next adventure Safari Pug, set for an August, 2018 release.

Not quite as strong as the first selection, this British import has some funny moments and madcap scenarios. Some parts of the plot don't make sense, but readers probably won't get caught up with the logistics. They will simply enjoy the silly premise. The cartoon-like illustration are very strong and enhance the text. Black and white with added yellow and reds, they are appropriate to the story and give the tale another dimension. I'm not sure if cowboys are still that popular with American children or that they will understand the "royalness" of the protagonist, but it is still great fun. Lady Miranda is the British Eloise with no parents in sight and only servants for company. Although this is the second of the series, readers do not need to be familiar with the first title in order to enjoy this zany tale. 

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