Cuddly Dudley

by Jez Alborough

Lovable Dudley the penguin just wants to be left alone, but he is so cuddly that no one, neither his family nor the loud man that he encounters, can stop cuddling him

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Fiction, Family Life, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Jez is the author and illustrator of 48 books for children. In 2018 he published The Story of 'You' his first book for adults, the first in a series called Life Beyond Personality. He says: "We enter this world as pure Oneness, (what I call our ‘original state of Being’) but we lose this as we become identified with our Personality. In that identification, the Stillness and Love of our Original State is overshadowed by the suffering of the Personality.

"Our Personality creates its own dream from the deep-seated beliefs and emotions it harbours; a dream that can be full of emotional distress, over-thinking and the constant investment in a future which never quite delivers on the belief: ‘When I get this I’ll be happy.’ The Story of ‘You’ suggests it’s possible to wake up out of that dream. When that happens, a whole new adventure begins in a life beyond the Personality."

The Infinite Journey, the second Book in the series, is published in early 2019.


Children's Books

His Eddy and the Bear trilogy (which began with the much-loved Where's My Teddy in 1992) has sold nearly four and a half million copies and was made into an BAFTA award-winning animated television series.

Duck in the Truck (published in 1999) heralded the start of another bestselling series, this time featuring the irrepressible Duck and his three friends - Frog, Goat and Sheep. There are currently nine books in the Duck series and almost than 1.5 million copies have been sold.

In 2000 Jez created Hug - a powerful and touching book of only three words about a baby chimpanzee called Bobo who loses his Mom. Oprah Winfrey raved about it on her show when she chose it for her recommended reading list while Richard Curtis (the writer and director of Four Weddings and a Funeral) selected it as one of his ‘Best Books’, calling it ‘classic family drama which holds up well next to Jez’s other masterpieces.’ Bobo went on to star in thee more classics; Tall ( which along with Hug won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award) Yes and Play. The series has sold almost 3 million copies.

Jez lives in West London. You can read more about his books for children in the JezAlborough.com library and about The Story of 'You' at LifeBeyondPersonality.com.

Jez's Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/jezalborough and you can follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jezalborough

Reviews

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always so much fun reading this.
I love the way its laid out in a comic strip style.

[Pippa Jessop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my absolute favourite childhood picture books! Really funny story and the illustrations are great!

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanted to do a read aloud with my students on this last day before Christmas break, and pulled this book off of my own childhood shelf since we had finished a penguin coloring page yesterday, and I absolutely adore penguins. Plus, it feels appropriate for this time of year. We had so much fun reading this book about a cuddly penguin who doesn't like to cuddle, but might just find that he needs his family after all. It was a funny and fun read. And it teaches children that we all need our friends and family. The illustrations were adorable, and some of the sky scenes were just gorgeous. I highly recommend this one for classroom read alouds, beginning readers and parents and children to share.

[Emma Parkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love penguins and I really enjoy this book. I think it's also a good diving point in to extroverts and introverts and how some people or penguins need a balance. P4C would work well when discussing how sometimes you may wish to be alone, however, it's nice to be surrounded by family and friends. Good KS1 book for geography when looking at comparing and contrasting climates and location on a globe.

[Sarah Atallah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the illustrations of this book and found myself always choosing this book to read. It had lots of humour and never failed to make me laugh. Its a story about a penguin who was tired of all the cuddling-but when he found himself with no penguins around him he was the one who couldn't get enough of the cuddle!

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say I like this book, exactly. The core story is about nonconsensual touching, which kids of any age should learn is something they have the right to refuse. True, in the end, Dudley becomes lonely enough he wants contact with his touchy family again, but I feel like this is teaching the wrong lesson here.

Cute artwork, at least.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahahaha! Yes! This book is hilarious! I connect with Dudley's feelings, as I also get tired of being snuggled all day (though not because I'm so cute people can't control themselves). Very funny ending and it will be great for storytime.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story!

[Dana Storytime Account · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love penguins and I really enjoy this book. I think it's also a good diving point in to extroverts and introverts and how some people or penguins need a balance.

[Sue Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young children love this book. It is very funny and a joy to read aloud.

[FinishingMyTBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! <3

[Clint Pearcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very cute book about a penguin who just wants to be left alone. As an introvert, I can relate!

[Ainsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

2025 advent calendar

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite with my first graders. Dudley is an adorable Penguin that realizes home is best.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet book about a little penguin called Dudley. All his brothers and sisters want to cuddle him and he gets fed up of being followed and cuddled because he is cute. Dudley wanders off and comes across a cabin, which he then goes in and explores. There is a tap at the window....who is it? its his brothers and sisters who have followed his footprints in to snow. Just as Dudley is enjoying himself swimming in the bath there is another tap at the window. this time it is a human who chases Dudley because he want to cuddle him, so Dudley runs away. Dudley run and runs but soon finds himself lost. He looks up at the big orange moon,looks over the hill and hears a voice, he looks down to see its is family who he runs to to have a cuddle. This book should be aimed at children aged 4 and above, the illustrations are lovely and i like the way sentences are split along with pictures. This i would read to a reception class in story time but would not study it.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dudley is a penguin with a very large family and he wants his alone time. He takes off looking for a nice relaxing spot to call his own. This story is a great read aloud for kindergarten or first grade. Students can all relate to Dudley, being at school and needing some alone or quite time away from the whole class. This could lead into a conversation about self control. I would include this book in my classroom library all year. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a fun read aloud that students can sit back and enjoy.

[Lindsey Johnson]

Cuddly Dudley is a great book to read to siblings or friends. It is a great way to talk about how you need friends and siblings in your life so you do not feel lonely. The pictures are not very colorful or very detailed. I think it has to deal with penguins living in the Antarctica so the author is trying to illustrate what their home looks like for children. I would read this to second graders or younger.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dudley is sick of being cuddled all the time by his large extended family pack of penguins. He wanders off in search of solitude and finds an empty cabin. Perfect! Time alone! But all good things must come to an end...and in this case, that's a good thing. Cartoony illustrations make this extra fun. I could see having some fun with "cooties" and "cuddles" during a story time with this one. Preschool - grade 2.

[Anna || BooksandBookends · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book to read with younger children! Brilliant use of rhyme and repetition throughout keeps the book engaging and young readers hooked. They sympathise with poor Dudley wanting some space to be alone, and then worry when he gets lost on his own! But the ending always makes them smile because "you're just too cuddly Dudley!"

[Johanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

The artwork in this book is rather adorable, but the story teaches an unintended lesson. Cuddly Dudley is a penguin that does not want to be touched. He has to run far away to avoid family touching him without his consent. Finally he realizes he is lonely and submits to being hugged and cuddled so that he can be with family and friends. Not really a lesson I want to teach my children.

[Brittany Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book my mom use to read to my brother and I when we were younger. Another reason I chose this book was because I love penguins and it was a cute story about giving hugs! I love the message that it sends to young children, sometimes being alone isn't always fun!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about a penguin who is tired of his brothers and sisters always wanting to cuddle with him.

[Esme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated by my 4 & 5 year old students.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to my son before bedtime this evening, and I was reminded of how much I like it!

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute

[Nicole Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a little pinguin who does not like to be hugged, but everyone else thinks he is very huggable.

[Little Miss and the Legomeister · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't decide if this is cute or disturbing. Dudley is so cuddly that his fellow penguins can't stop mobbing him. He runs away to get some privacy but eventually he gets lonely.

[Mercedes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining story with cute pictures!

[Hockley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuddly Dudley made my All time top 5 picture books list!

See the list here http://raven-reads.blogspot.co.uk/201...

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great to read aloud to age 4+