RIVER'S NEW FRIEND

River the dog becomes a big sister, but siblinghood is not all it’s cracked up to be in Roth’s picture book.

River loves to play with her caretakers, but humans don’t run on a dog’s schedule; she gets lonely sometimes when the two of them are busy. “Mom” and “Dad” come up with a solution: acquiring a new puppy, Willow, to be River’s sister. River is excited—that is, until she sees Willow eating all the food and tearing up toys that don’t belong to her. River decides a better option is befriending one of the other animals in the neighborhood, like Basanti, the bunny, Kameko, the cat, or even Rahma, the llama. The author offers emerging readers a fun and dynamic introduction to accepting a new sibling into the family in this debut picture book. Roth’s use of strong verbs, like, “Run! Chase! Pounce!” and “Hop! Hop! Hide!” brings energy to the story and provides a good entry point for educators constructing lessons on parts of speech. Ranucci’s full-color illustrations are richly expressive, with River’s emotions (including sadness and anger) coming through clearly with a touch of humor (especially when River imagines Willow to be a monster).

An educator-friendly picture book as playful and loving as the dogs it portrays.