Ugly-Cute: What Misunderstood Animals Can Teach Us About Life

by Jennifer McCartney

It’s time to shun our perfectionist society and discover the beauty in everything!

Ugly-Cute is an adorkable compilation of misunderstood, underappreciated species including well-known lovable uggos, like sun bears and pugs, as well as obscure weirdos, like the star-nosed mole and the aye-aye. Each chapter is dedicated to a different ugly-cute animal and the ways in which we can learn from them.


1. Pink Fairy Armadillo
2. Aye Aye
3. Star-nosed Mole
4. Wombat
5. Sucker-footed Bat
6. Sun Bear
7. Tapir
8. Anteater
9. White-faced Saki Monkey
10. Yeti Crab
11. Pug
12. Axolotl Salamander
13. Proboscis Monkey
14. Aquatic Scrotum Frog
15. Emu
16. Blobfish
17. Hairless Cat
and more!

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2023

About the author

Jennifer McCartney is a New York Times bestselling author. She is the author of numerous books including The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy, the novel Afloat; Cocktails for Drinkers; The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place; and Poetry from Scratch. Her writing has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and appeared in The Atlantic, Vice Magazine, Teen Vogue, Curbed, Globe and Mail, and Publishers Weekly, among other publications. Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Jessie Carvalho · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't necessarily just a kid's book. It's a coffee table type book. It's mostly comprised of pictures, descriptions, quotes, funny things. Our whole family loved this book, especially Lincoln. He particularly cracked up over the Scrotum Frog from Lake Titicaca. 🤣 He was mildly offended that his favorite dog, a pug, was referred to as "ugly cute". He loved it. I really loved the different quotes from celebs and etc. We highly suggest you get this book for your family!

Huge thank you to @harpercollins for the gifted book!

[Tracey Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Such a great message about finding the beauty in all living things. Can’t wait to share this one with my students.

[Katrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute.

[Shahine Ardeshir · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a simple little coffee table book, this posits a really important question - is our definition or cute and ugly an inherent reaction or socially conditioned? The book uses a series of truly spectacular photographs to illustrate the power of this concept: Is the pink fairy armadillo really off-putting to look at (err, yes I think so) or just a bit of a deviant? Is the star-nosed mole odd, perhaps - but look at the sensory power that nose gives it.

The manner of the writing is flippant and maybe more geared to younger readers - but the book in itself is a little gem, that I'm so glad I stumbled on in a museum gift shop. And most of all, the axolotl - the beautiful crazy little axolotl who graces the cover - is such a discovery. He deserves to be on the cover of Vogue :)

[ghesbgojes]

I was so interested to learn that there is a slug that photosynthesizes. Like- new favorite animal; a slug

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugly Cute was such an adorable book! I absolutely loved reading through the different animals that were presented in the book.

The way that this book was set up, it makes it easy for young readers or those that are interested in learning more can understand these animals, and their environments.

Highly recommend this book to everyone! It is perfect for the coffee table and I look forward to watching new readers pick up this book and flipping through it.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, this book, come on!!! It is truly the cutest compilation of those creatures (big and small) that are so ugly they are cute! A must for animal lovers. It would make a great gift or coffee table book!!!

[Bonnie Westmark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a birthday gift and I had planned to wait until school starts to read it in class, but it enthralled me and I finished it. Lots of life lessons in here and I firmly believe we can learn so much from animals. The pictures are amazing too.

[Olivia Nahmias · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 stars rounded up*
This isn’t necessarily a kids book. It’s closer to a coffee table book. It’s informative and includes great pictures of unusual looking creatures like the aye-aye or proboscis monkey. Great for animal lovers of all ages.

[Leona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly. Great photographs and fun facts. Recommended for all ages.

[Nancy Brookshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and educational quick read.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brought me so much joy! Pick it up when you're feeling down or ugly.

[Anne Nelissen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ✨️
Really fun book to read if you are an animal lover! Really appreciate the idea of being open to wonder.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Great photographs, interesting tidbits of information, and funny moments.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

great little educational book! this would be great to read with a school age child! love the pictures in it, too

[L-J Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous coffee table book about the weird and "ugly" in the animal kingdom. Gorgeous photos, interesting info tidbits, and a breezy and bright delivery.

[Alaghom Naom Tzentel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veel foto's dus zeker geen boek dat veel tijd vergt. De meeste dieren erin kende ik wel al, maar er stonden toch een paar ook voor mij nog ongekende exemplaartjes tussen.
Leuk als pass-time met jonge kinderen om samen te lezen/kijken
en ook wel een ludieke inspiratiebron voor een paar quizvragen.