Book Recommendation: Pugdog, a Gender-Bending Tail

I mentioned a few weeks ago that children’s books dealing with issues of gender identity and expression are still few and far between. A colleague of mine, however, recently recommended Andrea U’ren’s Pugdog, a picture book about a gender nonconforming dog.

Pugdog tells the tale of a dog whose owner thinks he is male—only to find out from the vet that Pugdog is biologically female. The owner then tries to “feminize” Pugdog with a grooming makeover and adorns the pooch with ribbons in lieu of a spiked collar—but things don’t work out quite as planned. As near as I can tell, Pugdog isn’t what we would anthropomorphically call “transgender,” but is definitely gender nonconforming.

The ultimate message is “be yourself,” and while one reviewer called it “heavy with message,” it still sounds like a good story with adorable pictures.

The book came out in 2001, and is now unfortunately out of print. It’s available in limited quantity for rather steep prices, but perhaps you could find it at your local library (mine has it) or convince them to order a copy.

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