Book Review: The Pug Who Didn’t Belong

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

The sweetly rhyming story of one lovable pug and a madness of marmots

Anybody who’s ever seen a pug knows: that grumpy-looking ball of fur loves cuddles and belly rubs and getting spoiled. So when Paula, a comfortable pug with a cushy life in a palace, gets sent into the mountains, she’s hoping for more of the same.

But what she finds there isn’t cushiness and cuddles; it’s a grumpy-looking man and a bunch townspeople who don’t think pugs belong up here. 

“Where were the comforts she’d come to expect? 

The absence of cuddles did not seem correct.”

She’s lonely in this new place, but lucky for her, all she has to do is venture outside to find companionship and a kind-of yummy meal. “Life is much brighter / when you’re sharing a meal.” A madness of marmots welcomes Paula with open arms, old cheese, and a rotting sandwich, and they help her feel at home in the woods. And surprisingly, they even play a funny role in breaking down the walls of that grumpy-looking human taking care of Paula.

The Pug Who Didn’t Belong shines most in its poetry. As a parent, you’ll read plenty of rhyming books out loud, and you’ll tell quickly which ones disrupt your flow and which ones float off the tongue. This book’s rhymes don’t just float; they fly. From page one, we ride on rhythm and read about funny behavior in quick pages and with ease. You’ll zip through the lines naturally and even smile while reading the current line about the previous one’s execution. When the rhyme scheme does break, it’s often because it’s a turning point in the story. This is a poet’s book for kids.

The concept of sharing a meal is also one of my favorite themes in recent kids’ book history. We can learn a lot about life by looking at animals. Food is a shared survival need in so many, even if it looks (or smells) different for some creatures. This book promotes food sharing in kids too, and it’s a great way to build community. I’d love it if my kid recommended we feed their next playmate thanks to this book.

It’s not so much a story about a pug who doesn’t belong as it is about a plucky little pug who finds companionship in an unlikely new place. The scene where the townspeople laugh at Paula is perhaps the only one I didn’t love in the whole book. Paula is resilient and brave and sweet and just needs a little love from a madness of marmots. (Am I upset that I learned that a group of marmots is called a “madness” from this kid’s book? Not even a smidge!)

Truly one of the best rhyming kids’ books I’ve read in a long time, The Pug Who Didn’t Belong would be an excellent choice for parents with pugs and kids who are ready to learn about making a home wherever they go.

Thank you for reading Toni Woodruff’s book review of The Pug Who Didn’t Belong by Janina Kelly and Tommy Hardman! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.

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