'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.'
