Odd Dog Out

by Rob Biddulph, Rob Biddulph (Illustrator)

Overview

AN AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH (DECEMBER 2019) SELECTION!

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!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062367266
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/03/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	145,506
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

After taking the world by storm with his first two picture books, Rob Biddulph decided to blaze his own trail and is now a full-time author and illustrator. When not working doggedly on creating his characters, he makes up stories for his three daughters and draws pictures to go with them. He lives and works in London, and his very first book, Blown Away, won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. You can visit him at www.robbiddulph.com.

After taking the world by storm with his first two picture books, Rob Biddulph decided to blaze his own trail and is now a full-time author and illustrator. When not working doggedly on creating his characters, he makes up stories for his three daughters and draws pictures to go with them. He lives and works in London, and his very first book, Blown Away, won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. You can visit him at www.robbiddulph.com.

Editorial Reviews

10/14/2019

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.)

Publishers Weekly

...successfully introduces the idea that just one individual may effect a change in a larger group.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Graphically striking...” — Kirkus Reviews

“A cheery, creative look at celebrating being different from the crowd.” — Kirkus Reviews

"In cheery colors and upbeat rhyme Biddulph writes an inviting narrative of self-discovery interwoven with tidy images of dachshunds of all sorts." — Publishers Weekly

[A] positive riff on the “be yourself” theme told in pleasant rhymes that can find a place in many collections. — School Library Journal

"Readers who find wiener dogs funny to look at will be rolling in the aisles..." — Booklist

From the Publisher

"Readers who find wiener dogs funny to look at will be rolling in the aisles..."

Booklist

"Readers who find wiener dogs funny to look at will be rolling in the aisles..."

Booklist

11/01/2019

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

School Library Journal

2019-09-15
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)

Kirkus Reviews