My review of Pedro The Ugliest Dog in the World

About the book:

Pedro is ugly, so ugly that he has been mistakenly identified as El Chupacabra.

In the town of Santa Maria all animals are welcome and free. But from the mountains, the lizard king and his gang raid the town of precious supplies. In their hour of need the town will turn to a hero, a hero whose name will strike fear in to all that hear it.

Will Pedro save Santa Maria?

Or will the truth be told?


My review:

There were a few things I really liked about this story. The part where Pedro was abandoned because nobody wanted him was sweet and emotionally touching. His relationship with his momma was also well done. I could almost hear the dog's accent when he spoke, too. The parts where he is trying to defend his "pack" from the psycho bullies is cute.

But there were a few times that I was a bit surprised as the innuendos and the suggestive language. Mother fluffing was just a hair away from what the author meant (as it would fit the dialog and situation in an adult novel) and there were a few places where it got a bit overly-gross.

I would not recommend this for little kids, but if the reader is in late elementary school like fourth or fifth grade they might enjoy it. Anyone would be able to figure out what the author meant when he substituted words, so parents offended with language might not want their kids to read this, especially if they start saying some of the words, like mother fluffing, for example.

The story was cute and pretty amusing for the most part. It also had some good lessons, like not looking at the person's outer appearance (or dog's appearance) to define their worth, for one. It shows the importance of bravery, being strong, and being useful to others even if you aren't beautiful by the standard of others, and not letting people's insults and rejection get you down.

I enjoyed the author's "voice" and the character Pedro. His "flea" friend David was a hoot, too. Bonita was a bit sexy for a Chihuahua (she licks his face instead of kissing him) but was otherwise a likeable damsel (dog) in distress. Pedro was pretty heroic for an ugly dog with bug eyes, a too-long tongue, and wonky teeth.