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Pride Puppy!
A young child and their family are having a wonderful time together celebrating Pride Day—meeting up with Grandma, making new friends and eating ice cream. But then something terrible happens: their dog gets lost in the parade! Luckily, there are lots of people around to help reunite the pup with his family.
This rhyming alphabet book tells a lively story, with rich, colorful illustrations that will have readers poring over every detail as they spot items starting with each of the letters of the alphabet. An affirming and inclusive book that offers a joyful glimpse of a Pride parade and the vibrant community that celebrates this day each year.
This rhyming alphabet book tells a lively story, with rich, colorful illustrations that will have readers poring over every detail as they spot items starting with each of the letters of the alphabet. An affirming and inclusive book that offers a joyful glimpse of a Pride parade and the vibrant community that celebrates this day each year.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2021
About the author
Robin Stevenson
42 books150 followersRobin Stevenson is an award winning Canadian author of more than 25 books for teens and children. Her book PRIDE: CELEBRATING DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY was a 2017 Stonewall Honor Book, and she has won or been a finalist for numerous other awards. Her other books include a board book called PRIDE COLORS, a picture book called GHOST'S JOURNEY, middle-grade non-fiction (KID ACTIVISTS) and fiction (RECORD BREAKER; THE SUMMER WE SAVED THE BEES) and teen non-fiction (MY BODY MY CHOICE) and fiction (A THOUSAND SHADES OF BLUE; THE WORLD WITHOUT US.)
In March 2020, a second edition- expanded and updated- of her Pride book will be released as PRIDE: THE CELEBRATION AND THE STRUGGLE. She also has a new YA novel coming soon! WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE, co-written with Tom Ryan, comes out in spring 2020 (Running Press Kids).
Robin lives on the west coast of Canada, with her partner and son.
In March 2020, a second edition- expanded and updated- of her Pride book will be released as PRIDE: THE CELEBRATION AND THE STRUGGLE. She also has a new YA novel coming soon! WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE, co-written with Tom Ryan, comes out in spring 2020 (Running Press Kids).
Robin lives on the west coast of Canada, with her partner and son.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 119 reviews
May 16, 2021
Pride Puppy
Aimed at children from 3-5 years old, Robin Stevenson’s Pride Puppy is a lively tale. With bright, vibrant illustrations by Julie McLaughlin, this book will easily appeal to kids of every age.
An LGBTQ inclusive tale, I especially appreciate the wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors of the folks in the story. The background is filled with fetching images, and the people are adorned in festive clothing and appealing tattoos.
What a wonderful and subtle way to add messages of inclusivity at story time.
thanks to Orca Book Publishers, via Net Galley, for the purpose of my honest review
Aimed at children from 3-5 years old, Robin Stevenson’s Pride Puppy is a lively tale. With bright, vibrant illustrations by Julie McLaughlin, this book will easily appeal to kids of every age.
An LGBTQ inclusive tale, I especially appreciate the wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors of the folks in the story. The background is filled with fetching images, and the people are adorned in festive clothing and appealing tattoos.
What a wonderful and subtle way to add messages of inclusivity at story time.
thanks to Orca Book Publishers, via Net Galley, for the purpose of my honest review
February 4, 2021
P is for "Pride Puppy!" Written by Robin Stevenson and illustrated by Julie McLaughlin, this rhyming alphabet book is a rollicking run through a day at a Pride Parade. A family celebrating Pride Day at the parade loses and eventually finds their dog, encountering many different people and activities.
The blurb included in the ARC describes the illustrations as "busy, bright, and dynamic," and they certainly are. The artistic style will appeal to young children, as will the rhyming cadence. The book is decidedly queer-centric, and the blurb also states that the family is purposely non-gendered.
This is a great introduction for young readers to the LGBTQ+ community, and I recommend it.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
The blurb included in the ARC describes the illustrations as "busy, bright, and dynamic," and they certainly are. The artistic style will appeal to young children, as will the rhyming cadence. The book is decidedly queer-centric, and the blurb also states that the family is purposely non-gendered.
This is a great introduction for young readers to the LGBTQ+ community, and I recommend it.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
February 24, 2021
This LGBTQ+ inclusive picture book was refreshing to read. I believe that having the queer community as the center of the story was unique. The illustrations were bright and colorful and busy. I valued the search and find word list at the end of the book.
ARC provided to me by Orca Book Publishers, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
#PridePuppy #NetGalley #ownvoices
ARC provided to me by Orca Book Publishers, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
#PridePuppy #NetGalley #ownvoices
May 24, 2021
Robin Stevenson is a precious LGBTQ+ rhyming alphabet picture book. Unlike most alphabet books, Pride Puppy is not just a collection of words starting with every letter of the alphabet, but a story featuring a family as they attend a Pride parade.
Our story starts with the family waking up and preparing for their big day—packing everyone in the car, including their pup with a cute little rainbow bandana. But during the festivities, there’s an accident and their puppy gets lost, making a big mess of things as everyone tries to catch him. I won’t spoil the ending, but I’ll just say that by the time they get to Z, young readers will be pleased.
I absolutely LOVED the representation in this book. The illustrations have rainbow flags, trans flags, bi flags, two spirit flags, and more. We see folks with a wide range of ages, abilities, races, and genders all celebrating together. There is even representation for colored hair and tattoos! The level of detail and inclusion is absolutely lovely to see, and all the fun bright colors are just icing on the cake.
As someone who is bi, seeing that flag meant the world to me. I have to admit, this is the first time I remember seeing bisexuality specifically represented in children’s literature. I don’t have the words to describe how much it means to me to point to that flag while reading this book with my son and proudly tell him what it means.
Robin Stevenson is an award-winning author of over twenty-five books based in Victoria, Canada. Please visit her website at robinstevenson.com to learn more about her and her work.
Julie McLaughlin is an award-winning freelance illustrator based in Vancouver Island, Canada. To learn more about her and her work, please visit her website at whatwouldjuliedraw.com.
I’m so happy to see more books centering the queer community being published today. I want to thank Orca Book Publishers for sending me a copy of this wonderful book. Now I’m going to cry tears of joy because I get to take my son to his first pride parade this year and I have the perfect book to prepare him for it.
Our story starts with the family waking up and preparing for their big day—packing everyone in the car, including their pup with a cute little rainbow bandana. But during the festivities, there’s an accident and their puppy gets lost, making a big mess of things as everyone tries to catch him. I won’t spoil the ending, but I’ll just say that by the time they get to Z, young readers will be pleased.
I absolutely LOVED the representation in this book. The illustrations have rainbow flags, trans flags, bi flags, two spirit flags, and more. We see folks with a wide range of ages, abilities, races, and genders all celebrating together. There is even representation for colored hair and tattoos! The level of detail and inclusion is absolutely lovely to see, and all the fun bright colors are just icing on the cake.
As someone who is bi, seeing that flag meant the world to me. I have to admit, this is the first time I remember seeing bisexuality specifically represented in children’s literature. I don’t have the words to describe how much it means to me to point to that flag while reading this book with my son and proudly tell him what it means.
Robin Stevenson is an award-winning author of over twenty-five books based in Victoria, Canada. Please visit her website at robinstevenson.com to learn more about her and her work.
Julie McLaughlin is an award-winning freelance illustrator based in Vancouver Island, Canada. To learn more about her and her work, please visit her website at whatwouldjuliedraw.com.
I’m so happy to see more books centering the queer community being published today. I want to thank Orca Book Publishers for sending me a copy of this wonderful book. Now I’m going to cry tears of joy because I get to take my son to his first pride parade this year and I have the perfect book to prepare him for it.
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June 21, 2021
One family goes to a Pride Parade and they seemingly lose their dog at the event. Can they find their four-legged friend before they miss all of the festivities of the local PRIDE event?
Told through A-B-C's, this book showcases LGBTQIA+ Diversity in the biggest way possible. Every possible age, gender identity, gender expression, ability, sexuality and race are BEAUTIFULLY showcased in Julie McLaughlin's illustrations.
The other cool part about this book, in addition to being about A-B-C's, it showcases off LGBTQIA+ history in a very honest, realistic and positive way. The other neat part about this book is that it is a search and find on each page as well. This is a read-again and again book, great for Storytime, Alphabet practice and search and find, all rolled into one.
BRAVO to #OWNVoices and award-winning author, Robin Stevenson, for bringing such a fitting fun picture book to life. Happy Pride Month ALL!
Told through A-B-C's, this book showcases LGBTQIA+ Diversity in the biggest way possible. Every possible age, gender identity, gender expression, ability, sexuality and race are BEAUTIFULLY showcased in Julie McLaughlin's illustrations.
The other cool part about this book, in addition to being about A-B-C's, it showcases off LGBTQIA+ history in a very honest, realistic and positive way. The other neat part about this book is that it is a search and find on each page as well. This is a read-again and again book, great for Storytime, Alphabet practice and search and find, all rolled into one.
BRAVO to #OWNVoices and award-winning author, Robin Stevenson, for bringing such a fitting fun picture book to life. Happy Pride Month ALL!
June 2, 2021
Amazing book ! Read it to our son Malek who absolutely loved it ! Beautiful writing, gorgeous colourful illustrations ! Can’t recommend it enough !!!
February 19, 2021
Title: Pride Puppy
Author: Robin Stevenson
Illustrator: Julie McLaughlin
Genre: Children’s Book
Pages: 24
Publication Date: 5/11/2021
I don’t normally review children’s books but the cover of this one caught my eye. I’m a sucker for a rainbow! This book is targeted at children between 3 and 5. The basic premise is that a family goes to a Pride Parade. Their puppy gets separated from them and sees all the different groups at the parade. It is an alphabet book.
I absolutely loved this book. I am planning to give it to every small person in my life and any “future” small people. The illustrations are so colorful, captivating, and inclusive. The book also includes a find the object for each letter for more fun.
I also feel like this book is age-appropriate. The gender of the parents is not discussed nor is sexuality – it is just presented as-is. The book focuses on a family going to a parade and the dog gets lost. Parents may recognize the various Pride flags and groups at the parade – but the book is not about them and does not dive into those issues.
I would highly recommend buying this for any small people in your life that are between 3-5 or to expecting parents! It’s a beautiful book.
ARC provided to me by Orca Book Publishers, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
#PridePuppy #NetGalley #ownvoices
Author: Robin Stevenson
Illustrator: Julie McLaughlin
Genre: Children’s Book
Pages: 24
Publication Date: 5/11/2021
I don’t normally review children’s books but the cover of this one caught my eye. I’m a sucker for a rainbow! This book is targeted at children between 3 and 5. The basic premise is that a family goes to a Pride Parade. Their puppy gets separated from them and sees all the different groups at the parade. It is an alphabet book.
I absolutely loved this book. I am planning to give it to every small person in my life and any “future” small people. The illustrations are so colorful, captivating, and inclusive. The book also includes a find the object for each letter for more fun.
I also feel like this book is age-appropriate. The gender of the parents is not discussed nor is sexuality – it is just presented as-is. The book focuses on a family going to a parade and the dog gets lost. Parents may recognize the various Pride flags and groups at the parade – but the book is not about them and does not dive into those issues.
I would highly recommend buying this for any small people in your life that are between 3-5 or to expecting parents! It’s a beautiful book.
ARC provided to me by Orca Book Publishers, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.
#PridePuppy #NetGalley #ownvoices
November 8, 2022
Cute. Colorful. Pride in the background on every page. An alphabet book for kids, with lots of objects on each page that start with that letter. LGBTQIA flags of all colors scattered throughout the book. Very friendly format and easy to read.
February 2, 2021
| Read on Reader Fox |
W for wags and wide smiles all around.
When I first picked up Robin Stevenson and illustrator Julie McLaughlin's Pride Puppy, I admittedly wasn't expecting an alphabet book. I was, however, very excited for the premise. Basically, the family puppy escapes while they're out for Pride and everyone around does their best to help him find his way home. Honestly, this is a beautiful book on that theme alone.
It Gets Better
I loved every second of Pride Puppy! From the diverse illustrations to the masterful and lyrical language. You can almost hear the song of it all as you're reading. Robin Stevenson definitely knew what she was doing with this book. I'll be honest, I can't think of a single thing to criticize about it. I just loved this book, plain and simple.
The characters have personality and emotions all throughout. You get a genuine story from start to finish. It's a fun read. And of course, there are the clear emotional moments in the background that touch on what it's like to lose your dog. But it didn't ever really take away from the excitement of the book. I think, as readers, you know without a doubt that those tears are going to disappear soon as pup is sure to be found.
And then there's that word list search at the end, basically sending you back through the book once again to find all the illustrations you, no doubt, missed in your first read. It starts with A, listing things like alligator (a toy you can find on the A page). This was such a simple and brilliant thing to include. I'm honestly just in awe.
Puppy!
And oh my goodness, that artwork. It was so beautiful, so colorful, so exciting! I don't think you could really turn a single page without your eyes being drawn to something utterly dazzling. I think the colors are what shines the most, of course. For children's books, colors are so important. Those are the things that are going to keep the littles engaged with a book. I don't think anyone will have trouble introducing this one to their kids.
The puppy is adorable, the characters are all so incredibly unique. I mentioned above that they all very clearly have personality and a lot of that is due to the exquisite artwork. I mean, this is an alphabet book and there's only so much that's told through the alphabet. You experience so much more when you include the artwork. Of course, I don't think the artwork would be as impactful without the language, either.
This story just flows so well together.
Pride
I think it's safe to say that this puppy has pride. How about you?
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
| Reader Fox Links |
W for wags and wide smiles all around.
When I first picked up Robin Stevenson and illustrator Julie McLaughlin's Pride Puppy, I admittedly wasn't expecting an alphabet book. I was, however, very excited for the premise. Basically, the family puppy escapes while they're out for Pride and everyone around does their best to help him find his way home. Honestly, this is a beautiful book on that theme alone.
It Gets Better
I loved every second of Pride Puppy! From the diverse illustrations to the masterful and lyrical language. You can almost hear the song of it all as you're reading. Robin Stevenson definitely knew what she was doing with this book. I'll be honest, I can't think of a single thing to criticize about it. I just loved this book, plain and simple.
The characters have personality and emotions all throughout. You get a genuine story from start to finish. It's a fun read. And of course, there are the clear emotional moments in the background that touch on what it's like to lose your dog. But it didn't ever really take away from the excitement of the book. I think, as readers, you know without a doubt that those tears are going to disappear soon as pup is sure to be found.
And then there's that word list search at the end, basically sending you back through the book once again to find all the illustrations you, no doubt, missed in your first read. It starts with A, listing things like alligator (a toy you can find on the A page). This was such a simple and brilliant thing to include. I'm honestly just in awe.
Puppy!
And oh my goodness, that artwork. It was so beautiful, so colorful, so exciting! I don't think you could really turn a single page without your eyes being drawn to something utterly dazzling. I think the colors are what shines the most, of course. For children's books, colors are so important. Those are the things that are going to keep the littles engaged with a book. I don't think anyone will have trouble introducing this one to their kids.
The puppy is adorable, the characters are all so incredibly unique. I mentioned above that they all very clearly have personality and a lot of that is due to the exquisite artwork. I mean, this is an alphabet book and there's only so much that's told through the alphabet. You experience so much more when you include the artwork. Of course, I don't think the artwork would be as impactful without the language, either.
This story just flows so well together.
Pride
I think it's safe to say that this puppy has pride. How about you?
I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
| Reader Fox Links |
October 24, 2021
I really like the way this was done.
June 1, 2021
3.5 stars--So colorful! The ideal audience will be kids who are gearing up to attend a Pride event with their families, as this fun ABC book takes place at a festive Pride parade. I liked that so much diversity was shown within the audience--there's someone just about everyone can relate to. I felt a little nervous for the "Pride Puppy" who breaks away from her family and goes running through the event in a panic. Perhaps this will be a lesson demonstrated for dog-owning families not to allow kids to be on leash duty, especially in a crowded, unfamiliar area.
February 21, 2021
I loved the book, but I feel there was a missed opportunity to write an ABC book that was more LGBTQ+. While the illustrations were full of pride, the actual letters were just normal everyday examples. If the pictures weren’t specifically inclusive, this could have been just another ABCs book.
May 29, 2021
Really cute search and find concept, but I wish there was aro/ace rep and a flag glossary or recommended reading at the end.
June 26, 2021
A great rhyming adventure through the alphabet, Pride edition! Loved that kids could try to find things on the page that also started with that letter of the alphabet (with a list in the back for them to check). Loved how effortlessly diverse it was. Really felt like it reflected the community and the celebrations I have been to in Vancouver. Would be a really great one for families to read before going to the parade or the Dyke March or the Trans March. So happy this exists. I can imagine a zillion people I want to give this book to. I think it could also be a good one for Drag Queen storytime or any storytime that happens in any of the Pride months. Alphabet books are a little long (and kids won't be able to do the search for other words starting with that letter), so I would do it when there is a lot of attention and a long amount of time left (good first book).
Highly recommended for any age that's yet to master and move on from reciting the alphabet.
Highly recommended for any age that's yet to master and move on from reciting the alphabet.
April 12, 2022
I had the biggest smile on my face the entire time I was reading this. It's absolutely precious and the REPRESENTATION is everywhere. I absolutely adore this. It made me so so happy. Biggest of thank yous to the friend that handed this to me and to the writer and illustrator. The artwork is so gorgeous! Perfect book. 10/10 recommend.
June 20, 2021
This book is so cute and so colorful! It is an ABC book that doesn’t actually talk about pride, but simply family and community. I feel like it’d be a great conversation starter and temp taker of sorts (if kids have Qs about the flags/rainbows/signs, great, if not, also good!). It also has this added layer of a search and find element, where kids can find items that start with the letter of each page. Love this one!
July 14, 2021
Quite possibly the most adorable thing I've ever read in my queer life. Time to read it to every toddler I know!
October 16, 2021
ABC, pride, fun search and find
June 1, 2022
Good little alphabet book for kids, but the illustrations are the big winner in this one! Inclusive and exciting and fun!
June 17, 2022
This is my favorite book.
Read
June 14, 2021So cute and I love the level of detail in the illustrations. Each page features a different letter as you follow a family attending a Pride parade and a puppy that runs away and gets lost in the crowd. There's a list in the back of the book that gives additional things to look for on each page, making this a fun interactive read.
June 5, 2021
A super cute pride-themed alphabet story. It has a lot of hidden alphabet things on each page so it would be a fun lap-read for an older kiddo working on their letters. I'm trying to read cool queer books for all my July story times, and so many of them are way too long/too wordy for a decent story time. It's not the best picture book for a pride story time, but it's definitely serviceable and more story time-friendly than a lot of the LGBTQIA+ picture books.
February 4, 2021
The pictures in this book are really cute. I love the contemporary graphics and colors. I didn't feel like the dog was really the focus of the story, which was really disappointing. I guess I'd want the dog to be more integrated with the alphabet pieces highlighted for it to really be an enticing book. There's not really anything wrong with this book, but I'm personally not very excited by it.
July 4, 2021
Wonderful illustrations
December 13, 2021
A family heads to pride parade for the day and everything is seen from a to z. Preschool and up
January 27, 2022
A playful look at a pride parade through a puppy's eyes.
March 8, 2022
A basic alphabet book that represents LGBTQIA
February 2, 2021
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review
Holy cow the diversity in this, amazing. If you can’t tell by the cover, the main focus is pride and the idea of being inclusive. The best part of this book is the illustrations, McLaughlin did an AMAZING job. Every single page is incredibly detailed with so many different characters that I spent a majority of the time “reading” the book just looking at the pictures. In addition to the LGBTQ+ reputation, I noticed several different cultural representations. There were just SO many people included in the illustrations that I’m pretty sure that, besides our main family, none of the characters were actually repeated. The images are super bright and colorful. If you’re not one to enjoy a “busy” picture you may not enjoy them as much. One thing I realized while reading this book was that McLaughlin included characters that had tattoos. I don’t know if I’ve ever really read any books that put tattoos on the adult characters, it just added to the uniqueness of every character.
Okay so now that I’ve gushed about the images, what about the writing? So this is a rhyming alphabet book that also tells the story of a dog getting lost. Personally, I didn’t think it was really necessary to have the dog bit added into the story. I was having a hard time focusing on the “story” because most of my attention was on the images because they were so busy. Only 4-5 of the pages actually talked about the missing dog and it was in a roundabout way because of the alphabet style that was used. It did also seem like some of the rhymes were forced.
I especially liked that at the end the author and illustrator included a search and find word list. Each letter of the alphabet had a list of words that started with that letter that you then go back and look for in the pictures. It’s a really great idea and helps you take a deeper look at the illustrations. I would almost prefer to use this solely as a search and find.
Overall I really liked this book for the diversity it brought. I think this would be a great book to help introduce the idea of pride and the LGBTQ+ community. I’m super happy to see these kinds of books and it’s one I would have loved to look at when I was younger.
**review will be posted on blog closer to publishing date**
Holy cow the diversity in this, amazing. If you can’t tell by the cover, the main focus is pride and the idea of being inclusive. The best part of this book is the illustrations, McLaughlin did an AMAZING job. Every single page is incredibly detailed with so many different characters that I spent a majority of the time “reading” the book just looking at the pictures. In addition to the LGBTQ+ reputation, I noticed several different cultural representations. There were just SO many people included in the illustrations that I’m pretty sure that, besides our main family, none of the characters were actually repeated. The images are super bright and colorful. If you’re not one to enjoy a “busy” picture you may not enjoy them as much. One thing I realized while reading this book was that McLaughlin included characters that had tattoos. I don’t know if I’ve ever really read any books that put tattoos on the adult characters, it just added to the uniqueness of every character.
Okay so now that I’ve gushed about the images, what about the writing? So this is a rhyming alphabet book that also tells the story of a dog getting lost. Personally, I didn’t think it was really necessary to have the dog bit added into the story. I was having a hard time focusing on the “story” because most of my attention was on the images because they were so busy. Only 4-5 of the pages actually talked about the missing dog and it was in a roundabout way because of the alphabet style that was used. It did also seem like some of the rhymes were forced.
I especially liked that at the end the author and illustrator included a search and find word list. Each letter of the alphabet had a list of words that started with that letter that you then go back and look for in the pictures. It’s a really great idea and helps you take a deeper look at the illustrations. I would almost prefer to use this solely as a search and find.
Overall I really liked this book for the diversity it brought. I think this would be a great book to help introduce the idea of pride and the LGBTQ+ community. I’m super happy to see these kinds of books and it’s one I would have loved to look at when I was younger.
**review will be posted on blog closer to publishing date**
Displaying 1 - 29 of 119 reviews