Rating: 
Summary: A Winner!
Review: Can you stand another 5 star review of "Unlovable?" Well, it certainly deserves it! Dan Yaccarino has consistantly been my 6 year old son's favorite illustrator and writer. We own many of his fabulous books. When I spotted this book peaking fron the edge of the shelf at a local bookstore, I recognized instantly that the artwork was that of Mr. Yaccarino. I hadn't intended to buy "Unlovable" at that time, but after a quick read to myself, couldn't resist surprising my son with it. The story is touching and teaches an important lesson about accepting yourself for who you are. The true test of a good book however, is not just whether I like it or my son likes it, but if we both like it. This one is a winner by all accounts. My next dog is definitely going to be a pug!
Rating:
Summary: A Winner!
Review: Can you stand another 5 star review of "Unlovable?" Well, it certainly deserves it! Dan Yaccarino has consistantly been my 6 year old son's favorite illustrator and writer. We own many of his fabulous books. When I spotted this book peaking fron the edge of the shelf at a local bookstore, I recognized instantly that the artwork was that of Mr. Yaccarino. I hadn't intended to buy "Unlovable" at that time, but after a quick read to myself, couldn't resist surprising my son with it. The story is touching and teaches an important lesson about accepting yourself for who you are. The true test of a good book however, is not just whether I like it or my son likes it, but if we both like it. This one is a winner by all accounts. My next dog is definitely going to be a pug!
Rating: 
Summary: Kids love Yaccarino
Review: Dan Yaccarino, the man behind Nickelodeon Junior's "Oswald", has given us a dog with a face only a mother could love in Alfred, a pug who hasn't got a friend in the world. Poor Alfred seems to run afoul of everyone he meets. The cat verbally hassles him and has even gone so far as to teach the parrot to cry out, "Unlovable!" (This book proves every dog lover's contention that cats are just rotten to the core.)Certainly our hero can find some companionship with his own kind, right? Nah. When you are this homely, what would a snooty poodle have to do with you? When a new family moves next door to Alfred's, a mysterious voice makes conversation across the fence, and things begin to change for our homely pug. Get the book to find out how Alfred triumphs over all. Yaccarino seems to have a golden touch with kids. His exaggerated, yet simple paintings have a vibe that kids identify with. It's a signature style that is hard to miss. My three year old son has loved every Yaccarino-illustrated book we've brought home. That he's the author on this one, too, only sweetens the package. It's hard not to feel a twinge and identify with Alfred when he's labeled "unlovable" for all the wrong reasons. Given that the classic moral of the story is one all children should know, what better way to introduce it into their world than through a delightfully illustrated work that will resonate them with them from the first page?
Rating:
Summary: Are you sure this isn't about our pug??
Review: I am a children's librarian at a large suburban library. I order large quantities of books based on reviews and often publisher's catalogs. I had no inclination that this particular book would be about a Pug, but since I am a giant fan of Dan Yaccarino - his illustrations mesmerize the youngest and oldest (well, I'm not that old!!) alike - and his words cause major bellying chuckles! When I read this book all I could do was scream... "LOLA"(!!)(although she's black and Dan illustrates her as the more popular, fawn color). And there's "CHLOE"(!!) our black cat, on the sill, staring at her with those "you poor soul" eyes!! What a realistic depiction of those "so ugly they are adorable breed". Wherever we go with our dog, people comment that this is the breed they want. Boy if only people were judged the same way!! Thanks for this book, Mr. Yaccarino and keep those chuckles coming!!
Rating:
Summary: Are you sure this isn't about our pug??
Review: I am a children's librarian at a large suburban library. I order large quantities of books based on reviews and often publisher's catalogs. I had no inclination that this particular book would be about a Pug, but since I am a giant fan of Dan Yaccarino - his illustrations mesmerize the youngest and oldest (well, I'm not that old!!) alike - and his words cause major bellying chuckles! When I read this book all I could do was scream... "LOLA"(!!)(although she's black and Dan illustrates her as the more popular, fawn color). And there's "CHLOE"(!!) our black cat, on the sill, staring at her with those "you poor soul" eyes!! What a realistic depiction of those "so ugly they are adorable breed". Wherever we go with our dog, people comment that this is the breed they want. Boy if only people were judged the same way!! Thanks for this book, Mr. Yaccarino and keep those chuckles coming!!
Rating:
Summary: Very Lovable
Review: I bought this book for my husband for Christmas (we have no kids -- but we do have a Pug!), and we both fell in love with it. Yaccarino has a great storytelling ability, and the illustrations were priceless. A good book for any pug-owner to have, and a great story for kids to read and learn about being who they are.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: I bought this book for my husband for Christmas (we have no kids -- but we do have a Pug!), and we both fell in love with it. Yaccarino has a great storytelling ability, and the illustrations were priceless. A good book for any pug-owner to have, and a great story for kids to read and learn about being who they are.
Rating:
Summary: The best book ever written!
Review: I have a pug and when I tell people that, they look at me weird. They ask me if it's that dog with the smooshed in nose. Of course, I answer "yes" but before they can say another word I tell them that she's the cutest dog you've ever seen! How can a person not fall in love with the "snort, snort", the runny noses, and the food going everywhere...typical traits of a pug! I work at a library in the children's department and I see a lot of children's books every day. I got a sneak preview of this book. I bought it for my personal home library as soon as the book was released! This is the greatest book that I've seen for a child to read in a long time and it captures the feelings and mannerisms of a pug perfectly! This book is a must for not only pug owners, but dog lovers alike!
Rating:
Summary: The best book ever written!
Review: I have a pug and when I tell people that, they look at me weird. They ask me if it's that dog with the smooshed in nose. Of course, I answer "yes" but before they can say another word I tell them that she's the cutest dog you've ever seen! How can a person not fall in love with the "snort, snort", the runny noses, and the food going everywhere...typical traits of a pug! I work at a library in the children's department and I see a lot of children's books every day. I got a sneak preview of this book. I bought it for my personal home library as soon as the book was released! This is the greatest book that I've seen for a child to read in a long time and it captures the feelings and mannerisms of a pug perfectly! This book is a must for not only pug owners, but dog lovers alike!
Rating: 
Summary: What kind of message are we sending children?
Review: I picked this book up because of the adorable pug on the cover, and was certainly not disappointed with the illustrations throughout the pages of the book. But I was seriously disturbed by the messages the story seemed to be sending. Alfred is constantly told that he is unlovable by those around him. The cat hisses at him, the family bird screeches. Other dogs shun him because he isn't big enough to play catch or they just think he's ugly. So when a new family moves in on the other side of his fence, Alfred harbors hope that the dog there will be his friend. When they talk, he lies about his breed, identifying himself as a golden retriever. The other dog doesn't know any better, since the fence is solid wood. The two dogs talk for hours and become good friends. When the dog on the other side decides to dig a hole under the fence to come meet Alfred face to face, Alfred is afraid. He doesn't want the other dog to stop being his friend. Alfred hides in the bushes. When he comes face to face with the other dog, it turns out that the other is a pug, too! Isn't that sweet. The other dog says, "You're a pug too!" or "I'm glad you look like me" or something to that effect. In the final frame of the book we see the two dogs gazing up at the now-frightened cat, fairly menacingly. It seems that all other readers of this book enjoyed it, but it absolutely horrified me. I left it thinking, "Apparently I'll only find acceptance with people who look like me, or people who don't know what I look like. And when they do find out what I look like, if we don't look the same, it'll all be over." The last page was especially frightening--it was practically gang behavior in the animal world! Let's all band together and threaten things that aren't of our breed or species! I would not allow any child to read this book. I gave it the one star for only two reasons: a) you can't give it any fewer stars and b) the illustrations were pretty cute, subliminal messages aside.
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