Pugtato Finds a Thing

Diligence and openheartedness are the themes of this rhyming story by Corrigan (The Not Bad Animals), but its real appeal lies in its eccentric cast: each character is a mash-up of a vegetable and animal species, with a hybrid name that evokes Parentese. The eponymous Pugtato, a roly-poly tuber-puppy who lives in a vegetable patch, discovers the mysterious and seemingly inanimate 'Thing'--pearly pink and shaped like a Nautilus shell--and wants to do right by it. But friends like Tweetroot, a beet-red bird, and Carrat, who's bright orange and toothy, are only interested in Thing for their own purposes ('Carrat thought Thing/ was for gnawing and chewing'). Finally, the wise Unicorn on the Cob advises from a leafy stalk, 'you must follow your heart./ For it holds all the answers/ and sets you apart'; thus inspired, Pugtato hugs Thing, and it blossoms into a new friend. While the book's earnestness is undeniable, its real impact may be in the giggles it inspires when readers next see a salad or produce stand. Ages 4--8.--Publishers Weekly
'In a very odd garden, where leaves have tiny faces and sunflowers smile, lives a spud, Pugtato, whose 'spuddies' include a wise old Unicorn on the cob; Carrat, a rodent-like orange veggie; chill dude Purrsnips; Cowbbage, who moos at things; and more. When Pugtato, who digs in the dirt very much as a pug might, with the markings and small paws of that breed, unearths a small opalescent spiraling round Thing, he queries all, near and far, to find out what it is. He follows his heart in how it should be handled--the others are not quite so careful with it--and hugs it till a snail friend, a new spuddy for him, emerges. The rhyme scheme of the story is charmingly awkward: 'Sorry to wake you, but I am confused. Can you tell me how this little Thing should be used?' Still, this is destined to be a story hour favorite, as Thing is passed from one helpful neighbor to another, and bounced, scratched, tossed, and nearly eaten on its way to friendship. Corrigan's illustrations have a Japanese minimalism but an English country garden's palette and readers will smile through the pages, seeking what's next. VERDICT: In a world where vegetables and animals are merged into one endearing category, this book speaks to a preschooler's sense of silly while also carrying a lesson of loving inclusion.' --STARRED review, School Library Journal, June 2020--School Library Journal