Gaston

by Kelly DiPucchio and Christian Robinson

Mrs. Poodle is the proud parent of Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La, and Gaston. The first... read more

Mrs. Poodle is the proud parent of Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La, and Gaston. The first three are spitting images of their mother. And Gaston — well, he clearly comes from different stock. Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La are poofy and puffy and the size of teacups, while Gaston is solid and stocky and as big as a teapot. But if being dainty and delicate and neat like their mother doesn’t come as easily to Gaston, he always “worked the hardest, practiced the longest, and smiled the biggest.” Then the family meets Rocky, Ricky, and Bruno, three stocky, solid bulldog pups, and their poofy, puffy sister, Antoinette. “It seems there’s been a terrible mistake,” says Mrs. Bulldog. And so the two puppies trade places. The problem is, “Antoinette did not like anything proper or precious or pink.” And Gaston didn’t like anything “brutish or brawny or brown.” Kelly DiPuccio’s delightful romp gets even better as the pups return to their original families, and eventually have pups of their own who are encouraged to be whatever they want to be. It’s a tongue-in-cheek look at nature versus nurture, but also an affirmation of being true to oneself. (Ages 4–8)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2015

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