self-esteem | Love, Laughter, and Life

The REAL front cover is a sunshiny yellow, but I cannot make my photo true to color. Please use your imagination to view ODD DOG OUT in brilliant yellow. My apologies!

THIS is closer to the true color. 🙂

Odd Dog Out

Written and illustrated by Rob Biddulph

Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2019

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Oh, doggy lovers, this one is just too cute! Odd Dog Out will bring joy to your young readers and encourage them to be confident as they go through life marching to their own beat.

I received a copy of Odd Dog Out from Abigail at Wunderkind in exchange for a review.

What I love about Odd Dog Out:

~ The adorableness of the illustrations! You need to check out this book. There is only one type of dog-weiner dogs-and they are so cute. The bright colors on each page appeal to me as well. The odd dog out stands out from the crowd and is easy to identify.

~ The simple rhyming text perfectly tells the story and matches the illustrations.

~ The message of being comfortable in your own skin, marching to your own drum, and feeling confident in yourself rings through loud and clear.

~ The variety of doggies at the end, all uniquely expressing themselves, is a great ending (SORRY, spoiler alert!)

~ The appropriateness for young readers (4-8 years old, Preschool-3rd grade).

~ The clever wordplay.

This is one of my favorite spreads in ODD DOG OUT.

Amazon Blurb:

A heartwarming and poignant story from award-winning creator Rob Biddulph about the power of embracing your true colors. Perfect for fans of Peter Brown’s Tiger Goes Wild.

It’s a dog’s life in the big, busy city, but there’s one lonely pup who doesn’t quite fit in. She behaves differently from the rest, sports rainbow in a sea of gray, and marches to the beat of her own drum.

She’s one Odd Dog.

Join Odd Dog as she journeys to the other side of the world to find her place in it, only for her to discover that maybe she’s meant to be right where she started.

And check out Rob Biddulph’s other books for children, including:

Blown Away

The Grizzly Bear Who Lost His GRRRRR!

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by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Agatha

By Anna Pignataro

(Little Bee Books, 2015)

Agatha did not fit it.

With a bear and a pig for parents, Agatha did not look like her parents. Other kids resembled their parents. But not Agatha. When the family got together, both sides of the family looked like each other, but Agatha didn’t quite match anybody.

When it was time for kindergarten, Agatha felt out of place. Until one day, her teacher said that everyone was special in their own way.

Agatha’s classmates told why they were special. But when it was Agatha’s turn to share, she had disappeared! The subsequent Agatha-hunt led Agatha to see her specialness through the eyes of her friends. Agatha was special at being Agatha.

I love this book! Agatha would be perfect for anyone who feels different from others or for a child who is going to kindergarten.

Everyone is special!

KID KANDY:

Specialness Survey

Materials: toy microphone (or something you can pretend to use as a microphone)

Think for a minute. How are you special? Maybe you can list several things that make you special.

1. Hold a specialness survey. A survey is when you ask questions for others to answer. Use the microphone as you interview your family. Go to each member and ask them to tell how he or she is special. Tell why you are special.

2. Ask neighbors, friends, or classmates to tell why they are special.

3. Think again. Are all of the people you interviewed the same? Do each of them have something special that makes them unique?

I enjoy making greeting cards with rubber stamps. That makes me special. I’d love to hear what makes you special!