Pugly On Ice

Pamela Butchart's Pugly On Ice is a loud, glittery, very silly story for 5 year olds about a pug who is totally sure he'll win an ice-skating contest.

What happens

The only problem? He's never actually skated. Not on real ice anyway (he's practised LOADS in the living room in front of the telly).

Clem the cat gives Pugly some skates for his birthday. She found them in a bin, and there's an old bit of lettuce stuck inside. Pugly doesn't care one bit. He's off to sign up for Pets on Ice.

He falls over the second he steps on the rink. Clem has to pull him round until he gets the hang of it. But somehow the judges pick him for the final five!

His rivals are brilliant. Rojo the Pomeranian spins like a fireball. Tiny the chihuahua is super speedy. Hugo the sausage dog does belly slides in goggles. And then there are Jasmine and Gerard, greyhound twins who are proper ice-skating superstars.

Then things start going wrong. Tiny's lucky skates vanish. Rojo's costume starts smoking. The lights go out and Hugo ends up stuck in the wall of the rink. Everyone thinks the rink is haunted. Clem thinks it's sabotage.

Pugly tells it himself, and he shouts a lot. Big CAPITALS on nearly every line, lots of crashing about, and plenty of glitter in places it shouldn't be (like his mouth). It's great for reading aloud if you don't mind doing the voices.

Clem is the one to watch. She's grumpy and bossy and always sneaking up on him, but there's a lovely moment when you find out what she's secretly wanted all along. Nobody thought to ask her!

There's a kind heart under the silliness too. Pugly feels sorry for Gerard, even when it would be easier not to.

What to read next

For more of the same double act, Pugly Bakes a Cake puts Pugly and Clem in the kitchen instead. He's decided to win a TV baking competition, and Clem's idea of helping involves tuna and smelly cheese.