I LOVE MY PUPPY

A girl and her dog bond for life.

Mia and her puppy are the best of friends. The duo plays together, eats together, and snuggles together as recounted in rhyming verse with an abcb pattern. This board book is sprinkled with touch-and-feel elements throughout, underlining its cuddly themes. The tactile parts of the illustrations are very subtle, integrated cleverly into the illustrations, and little ones will enjoy discovering each one. Both on the cover and in the first double-page spread, the puppy is fuzzy; a red ball proves to be squishy plastic; the puppy’s “woof!” is spelled out in sparkly letters. Publishing simultaneously in the unfortunately named Love Meez series, I Love My Dinosaur covers similar ground with Patrick and his (actual) pet dino. Both board books put a hearty emphasis on love and affection toward one's pets. The simple illustrations are smartly composed, focusing on the children interacting with their pets at all times, though the protagonists of both books are Caucasian. Parents thinking of getting their little one a fluffy companion would do well to add this to their storytime stack.

A cozy read.