Gaston

This book is beautifully illustrated. However, I have trouble with the messages in this story. There are two doggie families and one bulldog and one poodle puppy end up with the "wrong" family, presumably exchanged at birth. When both families of dogs meet at the park, they realise that something looks wrong, and they switch the poodle and the bulldog pup to their original dog moms.However, the bulldog and the poodle do not fit that well anymore with their biological families, where they haven't been raised. So the next time they all see each other in the park, they switch the dogs back to the non-biological dog parents.Obviously, in most children books, animals stand for people (because the dogs themselves would not be doing any of this complicated switching), so it makes me wonder: what is the "message" of this book? Someone might find it "funny" (I'm not sure why, except for the names of the dogs or the images), but it's clear that this books is trying to have a message. Is the message that, no matter what you look like, you belong with the people who raise you and take care of you? Is this then just a story aimed at adopted children? If that's the case, how would they appreciate this message? Because both dog families do realise that something looks really wrong (when the dogs are still switched), and when they switch them back to their adoptive families - we can assume it still looks wrong - but it "feels right." I see no good way out of this.Frankly, I'm getting exasperated with many of these children's stories. There should be more control over the content in terms of really qualified editors/psychologists, etc. These books affect our children's thoughts and feelings on many important issues. We all know how much they soak up.I read this book to my toddler today, who was luckily too young to get into the plot. I'l have to return this, even though I regret this only because of the beautiful quality of the paper and illustrations.

I purchased this as a gift for a friend, but she has since emailed me on two different occasions letting me know how much she loves this story. In fact, she says it is her favorite children's book!I bought this specific book for my friend because she has a white French Bulldog that looks just like the dog on the cover of this book. Honestly, I didn't even know the story was about a French Bulldog! My friend, and her daughter, absolutely love this story though, and not just because their dog looks like Gaston. She said it's a sweet story that they have already read multiple times.Based on my friend's response, I would say this book is a must-have for French Bulldog owners... and anyone else. :)

Super cute story line. Simple, but engaging illustrations! I love this book! Inadvertently, it's good for counting, if your child is learning numbers, and also delighting in and noticing "differences" between pictures, too. I'm an adult, who wanted to gift this book to a toddler and her mother, but chose to keep it for my own collection!French Bulldog and/or Poodle owners; all pet owners and non, will love this book!

Bought for 2 year old's birthday. It is her favorite book now, "GonGon" she says. She wants it read every night and it's so sweet and funny we don't mind. At first she only made it through a couple of pages but each night she stayed longer. This is her first big non-board book. She knows the dog names and has half of it memorized now.

This story is so adorable (as are the illustrations). I bought it as a gift for my cousin's two year old daughter but must admit I read it to my ten year old son before gifting it and even he was charmed by the story and illustrations. Oh, and I also bought the little Gaston stuffed animal which is a great accompaniment to the book.

Adorable book, but warning-- it's got a weird ending. The doggies "fall in love" and have puppies on the last page which does nothing for the s...Now, my almost 3 year old still asks me "what is fall in love?"...he doesn't get it yet but understands the rest of the book. Perhaps better for a 3 or 4 year old...

“Gaston” is one of my second grader’s favorite books. They love seeing the characters discover that it’s ok to be different and to accept those differences. The illustrations are delightful, the language is clear, the storyline is entertaining to the max. My students request this story a few times a week and it has become one of our class favorites!

Easy to read book with your toddlermy daughter love it, one of his favoriteIt doesn't provide a great message but is fun to read.