Odd dog out

Rob Biddulph

Book - 2019

In a busy city where all the dogs act and dress in a similar fashion, what would you do if you felt like you didn't fit in? In this rhyming story about acceptance and self-esteem, a unique dog ventures out to find her place in the world, only to discover that it's okay to be different and your friends and family will love you no matter what.

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Location Call Number   Status
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Subjects
Genres
Stories in rhyme
Picture books
Published
New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Rob Biddulph (author)
Edition
First U.S. edition
Item Description
"Originally published in the UK by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd."--Page facing title page.
Physical Description
32 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 29 cm
Audience
Ages 4-8
ISBN
9780062367266
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Readers who find wiener dogs funny to look at will be rolling in the aisles, as Biddulph packs his digitally painted pages with hundreds of them some rushing along like linked sausages in business suits, others tightly queued up in identical costumes. One pooch, with a taste for knit caps and scarves, dances to a different beat. Despairing of ever fitting in, she wraps herself up and trots off to Fabulous Doggywood, where she finds a hundred others just like me! But then she meets a dapper dachshund who sees being ""odd dog out"" differently, telling her in a (contradictory) pair of couplets: You've got it wrong. / I really feel like I belong. / I love to stand out from the crowd! / And so should you. Stand tall. Be proud. The claim that standing out is a kind of fitting in may cause some head-scratching, but the self-affirmative message is clear enough, and its final explicit statement is printed in rainbow colors for, perhaps, an oblique tribute to another kind of difference.--John Peters Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

One of these things is not like the other in this orderly dachshund universe. In repeating patterns of pups--business hounds in suit, tie, and bowler; a team of striped doggy footballers; a crew of swimmers in polka-dot caps--"they all blend in. No dog stands out." Except for Odd Dog, who dons a rainbow scarf with matching hat and is conspicuous in every otherwise homogenous crowd. Feeling "on her own and out of place," she packs her case and hits the road for "Doggywood," a bustling city of dogs that align with her aesthetics. After expressing pity for a sweater-sporting outlier who reveals a fondness for standing out, Odd Dog realizes her folly and heads for home, where her absence, meanwhile, has taught her peers to individuate themselves. In cheery colors and upbeat rhyme, Biddulph writes an inviting narrative of self-discovery interwoven with tidy images of dachshunds of all sorts. Ages 4--8. (Dec.)

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Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2--In a city of nearly identical dachshunds dressed in the same striped suits, or as clad as "swimmer[s], sailor[s], soldier[s], scout[s]," one dog "is dancing to a different beat." Unlike the other canines, this one wears a colorful scarf and a beanie, and insists on doing everything her way, whether it's throwing a soccer ball instead of kicking it, or playing a guitar when everyone else is playing violin. Feeling out of place, she decides to leave her hometown and find another place where she might fit in. After a long search, she comes to "Doggywood" where nearly every dog is exactly like her, but one. Initially feeling sad for this interloper, she learns instead to enjoy being unique. With this newfound wisdom, she returns to her hometown where all the other dogs decide to celebrate their differences as well. Biddulph's mixed media and digital illustrations feel dizzying at times with their mix of busy graphics and bright colors, but the patterned repetition of identical dogs serves well to highlight the nonconformity of the lone protagonist. VERDICT Though the message of this story itself isn't terribly unique, it is a positive riff on the "be yourself" theme told in pleasant rhymes that can find a place in many collections.--Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

In a copy-cat world where all dogs look the same, one dachshund finds her own identity and learns to love being different.A bouncy, rhyming text presents a city with rows and rows of identical dachshunds driving on busy roads or engaging in activities such as swimming, sailing, and camping. Each group of dogs is dressed identically, with the members of each set lined up in robotic, expressionless fashion. One female dog, however, dances to a different drummer. She wears a colorful cap and a rainbow-hued scarf, and she listens to her own music playing on headphones. She feels she doesn't fit in anywhere, so she leaves home to find a new life. She lands in Doggywood, where she does fit in, as many other dogs there look just like her. She meets another outlier, dressed in a black cap and Nordic sweater, who's "whistling a different tune." That dog causes her to be proud of her outsider status, and the unnamed heroine returns to her original town, where she has been missed. Her return sparks an outbreak of individuality, with all the dachshunds making a group decision to dress in wildly different attire. While the sudden transformation from boring conformity to intriguing originality is a bit abrupt, the story successfully introduces the idea that just one individual may effect a change in a larger group. Graphically striking, patterned illustrations use vibrant colors and a wide variety of perspectives and page formats to keep visual interest high.A cheery, creative look at celebrating being different from the crowd. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.