A Puppy’s Tale * A Heartfelt And Adorable Story With Perfectly Aligned Illustrations
Monday, July 7th, 2025
A Puppy’s Tale is a heartwarming picture book about the bond between a boy and his puppy as they grow up together. Their playful journey explores friendship, love, and the lifelong imprint a beloved pet can leave — even after they part.
KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Alma K. comments, “A Puppy’s Tale is filled with joy, sadness and hope. The illustrations, by Elena Ciolacu, are absolutely beautiful. They’re very detailed and, as the book develops, you really see both the dog and the boy get older gradually.” Sofia T. adds, “The book, A Puppy’s Tale, is a heartfelt and adorable story with perfectly aligned illustrations. This book’s plot is simple and sweet. It satisfies the need for a thought provoking storyline whilst being a children’s picture book.” Eli C. wraps it up with, “I took away two messages from this story. First, life is better with friends. Second, if someone you love passes away they will always be with you.” See their full reviews below.
A Puppy’s Tale
By Sofia T., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 14
The book, A Puppy’s Tale, is a heartfelt and adorable story with perfectly aligned illustrations.
The storyline follows the lifelong friendship of a boy named Evan and a dog named Achilles. Both feel like they don’t fit in, but once they meet they continue to grow together as best of friends until it’s time to say goodbye.
This book’s plot is simple and sweet. It satisfies the need for a thought provoking storyline whilst being a children’s picture book. It caused laughter that made my throat ache and tears that hurt my heart.
The pictures that accompany the story are perfect.
They are gorgeous and immediately appeal to the eye. My favorite detail about this book is the little ways the illustrations portray Achilles and Evan growing up so they get older and older with every page. The character Evan is lovable and relatable as we see his struggles trying to fit in with his peers. Achilles seems to be the pup everyone needs in their life. At one point the book reads “After ruff days at school, my favorite thing is being your comfort.” This line shows the impact Achilles has on Evan’s life and includes an adorable and fitting pun. Although the ending is sad, it truly made me feel all the emotion and love written onto the pages.
The book’s message is that all love comes with loss.
I give A Puppy’s Tale 5 out 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 8. It is available now at online book retailers.
A Puppy’s Tale
By Eli C., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 10
Puppy’s Tale is heartfelt, has a sweet story line, and takes you through a wave of emotions. I think others would like it because it makes you feel warm inside. I think dog owners would connect to it. I also feel that readers will enjoy the lessons of loyalty and friendship.
This book is about a boy and his dog that grow up together and mature with each other. Both of them are always glad to see each other. In the end they still love one another.
The story flows very well, and makes perfect sense. It’s wonderfully organized, and the character development is great.
As a dog lover I can relate to the characters. It is correct on what dogs like and don’t like. The vocabulary and concepts are perfect for its intended audience. They do introduce the topic of a dog dying, which may be sensitive to younger viewers. The cover is colorful and appealing. This story is genuinely entertaining and absolutely suitable for kids, whether they are dog lovers or not.
I took away two messages from this story. First, life is better with friends. Second, if someone you love passes away they will always be with you.
I give A Puppy’s Tale 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 8. It is available at online retailers now.
A Puppy’s Tale
By Alma K., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 15
A Puppy’s Tale is filled with joy, sadness and hope. The illustrations, by Elena Ciolacu, are absolutely beautiful. They’re very detailed and, as the book develops, you really see both the dog and the boy get older gradually. The story is relatable.
The book explores the relationship between a boy named Evan and his dog Achilles as they grow up together. It lists all of their favorite and not-so-favorite things. Every page features a different thing. Playing hide and seek is Achilles’s favorite thing – he loves finding Evan. What is his least favorite thing? The vacuum cleaner. The two of them grow up together and the book details their unbreakable bond all the way up to when Achilles has to be put to sleep.
It’s about a dog named Achilles and his owner, a boy named Evan, who are best friends and they do everything together. Every page is about something they do together – baking with mom on Saturday mornings, soccer, movie nights, trick-or-treating, catch, and so on. The one fault for me is that the beginning feels very rushed – the first page says: “the dog is lonely, the boy is lonely” and then the next page has them both waking up, determined to find a friend today and then, bam, they’re automatic besties. It happened so fast I got whiplash. I really love how descriptive the book is. Achilles tells us he doesn’t like going to the doggy doctor and then he explains why.
He loves watching Evan play soccer but doesn’t like it when he accidentally deflates the ball because then he doesn’t get a treat. There are some vocabulary words that might be challenging for kids – switching the word ‘rough’ with ‘ruff’, for example, is not a joke that everyone will get. The last few pages are about Achilles getting older and losing the ability to do all kinds of things and how Evan, now an adult, takes Achilles to the doctor where he has to be put to sleep. The book ends with Evan at Achilles’s grave and Achilles tells him saying that loss is a part of life and that he’s waiting for them to meet again. He says he’ll always be with Evan and that, though it hurts now, with time his heart will heal and that he can’t wait to meet again.
The book’s message is that our loved ones never really leave us. Note that there is some unsafe behavior that kids might replicate. We see Evan on a skateboard and Achilles pulling him, which looks really fun, but this is also quite dangerous. The book shows also as, on the next page we see Evan all banged up with lots of cuts and bruises.
I give A Puppy’s Tale 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 12, plus adults. It is available now at online book retailers.
