There are messages here, but they're only offered, not preached, and so the reader has a chance to choose which to explore and which to skip. Maybe it's about adoption. Maybe it's about just plain being happy with who you are. Maybe, even, it's about transexuals. Or, if you'd rather, just plain enjoy it. It's funny, and cute, and clever. Highly recommended for all ages.

1) Alright class, we will be reading this heartwarming book titled “Gaston”, but first let’s look at the back cover of this book. [shows the children the back of the book, there is 1 dog and 4 puppies sitting in a row] Can anyone tell me what’s different about one of the puppies? {wait for a child to respond} That’s right! That puppy is bigger than the other puppies. Has anyone ever felt like they were the “odd” one in their own family? Like you truly believe you don’t belong in this family beca...

I loved this book. It was adorable. The art was great and the story was cute. The only problem was that I was a little confused by the whole moral of the story. I think it's supposed to be that just because you look like certain people it doesn't mean you belong with them and that you belong with the people you love. It was just an odd way to show that. Don't get me wrong. The story was great. It's about a puppy who is switched at birth and when the mothers figure it out they attempt a switch ba...

This is a nice, fun read with lovely illustrations. Gaston feels different from the rest of his puppy siblings and one day a walk in the park reveals (view spoiler)[ there has been a mix up with another dog family (hide spoiler)] The resolution is a happy one and the book has some nice messages that you don't have to be like your family to be one of them and that you can be different and just as loved.

Such a fantastic book! The illustrations are amazing and story is so good. We loved the story of Gaston and his family.

So sweet! I loved this. It shows that family is those who love you and whom you love, not necessarily those who are "like" you. I could see this being used in adoptive families and many other situations. Loved it. Oh, and the dogs' names are great, too. My two year old loved the book even though the many layers of the message are beyond him right now.

I really liked this one. A tale of two puppies that may somehow have gotten switched. A celebration of differences. An affirmation of being yourself.

5 stars for illustration, 3 stars for text.

The illustrations are great but an underlying message of the story is problematic. On one level, it's a sweet story about belonging and family but on another level it seems to reinforce gender stereotypes with tenderness depicted as innately feminine and brutishness masculine. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but that's how it strikes me.

Gaston is the perfect poodle puppy. He never barks, slobbers, or any other messy thing. He fits in perfect with his proper poodle family. Until a trip to the park reveals a startling revelation. In Kelly DiPucchio’s adorable new picture book, Gaston learns the true meaning of family, love, and being who you truly are. Seriously, this book is freakin’ adorable. It was recommended to me by a fellow librarian (therefore you know it will be amazing) and it completely warmed my heart! Go forth and re...

“Whatever the lesson, Gaston always worked the hardest, practiced the longest, and smiled the biggest.”This is such an adorable book! It was recommended on Goodreads and was finally marked down as a Kindle book a couple of weeks ago so I bought it right away.Gaston, a white little Frenchie, is raised in a family of poodles. Though he doesn’t exactly look like the other members of his family, or find it as easy to learn “poodle finesse,” he tries his hardest to be himself.When the “mix-up” is dis...

Cute, switched-at-birth story. Still, I have mixed thoughts ... I'm not sure about the message it conveys to young kids. There are good lessons here, but something doesn't sit too well with me.Anyway ... cute.Rating, 3.5

This was a nice book. It's about two families of dogs and two pups who feel like they don't fit in no matter how hard they try. The main themes were the grass isn't always greener on the other side and just because you are different doesn't mean you don't belong. The artwork was quirky and cute. I would recommend this for ages 6-10.

Loved the art, great message about being where you belong but also making friends with those who are different.

Gaston, a bulldog, and Antoinette, a poodle, are dogs who get "switched at birth". They're different from the others in their respective families but they love them very much. They meet at the park and realize there's something wrong. They attempt a switch back, but miss the families they left behind. They go back to the way things were before and become friends. Gaston and Antoinette later end up starting a family of their own. This is a very cute story that I'd highly recommend, especially to

The art is AMAZEBALLS. After Josephine (HI MUST-BUY), Christian Robinson is quickly becoming one of my new fave illustrators. But I was troubled by the resonances of the story. I don't really think we're all nature or all nurture. I don't want kids to think that. This book basically does say NATURE WINS HANDS-DOWN BOOM. I also wonder what adopted kids would think of this book -- that they'll never truly belong with their adoptive family because there is a REAL family out there that's exactly lik...

We adopted our son and we read this book together. There are cute aspects of it, the illustrations, etc. But I am always bothered by the idea that mothers would see their children looking like someone else's family and think, "yeah, I'm gonna just let my kid go back to that family because it *looks* right. You know, this is awkward, but it's not going to rip my heart out." (I get that the puppies choose, but still. If it was a story about an adoptee seeking their birth family and needing to unde...

I love this book. My son usually doesn't care for sweet books and just likes the tough, gross, or spooky ones. (I got it despite his objections.) But after listening to me read it once, he requested it again on the next two following nights before bed.

How darn ADORABLE is this book? I can't. Gaston is about a bunch of puppies — that's probably all most of you need to know, but I'll go on. We have a family of little prim poodles, but one puppy looks... different. And they meet a family of rambunctious little bulldogs, in which, again, one puppy looks different. It's a story about found families and how sometimes, the family we belong to most has nothing to do with who birthed us, but also, it's just a really stinking cute book about puppies.

Gaston lives with his mother and his three siblings, Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, and Ooh-La-La. They are all poodles, but Gaston is something else. He worked hard to be the best poodle puppy he could be, not slobbering, barking correctly and walking gracefully. When the poodle family went to the park, they met a bulldog family there that had its own unusual family member who looked like a poodle. There had clearly been a mix up! So Gaston switches places with Antoinette. Now the families look just the way t...