SHIBU'S NEW FRIEND

This follow-up to Shibu’s Tail (2025) finds the titular cat quite content with his circle of like-minded pals—until a new neighbor changes everything.

Shibu has always surrounded himself with felines just like him—friends who like the same games, the same food, the same cozy boxes. Then Shibu meets Dottie, a floppy-eared, spotted dog who chases whole yarn balls instead of batting at the strings, chews bones, digs holes with abandon, and—notably—swims voluntarily. Thomas structures the tension with a light touch: Shibu’s confusion is rendered as a literal question mark formed by his own curling tail, and his eventual leap toward friendship feels authentic. Where its predecessor focused on self-expression, this installment pivots to the harder lesson of embracing difference. Fong’s illustrations, made up of dense, fine black micro pigment ink lines on an ivory field, set Shibu’s dark, cloudlike form against Dottie’s softer, lighter texture to create an immediate visual contrast that quietly reinforces the story’s theme. The characters are rendered with remarkable expressiveness despite their simplicity—a drooping ear, a flattened tail, a skeptical sideways glance building upon Thomas’ understated prose. The restrained palette keeps focus squarely on body language and expression, and the climactic spread—two ears and one tail curling into a double heart—lands with quiet emotional force. The humor is gentle throughout, from Shibu’s baffled reaction to kibble to his very dignified horror at the concept of swimming.

A simple ode to an unlikely friendship.