More fun with a lovable, literate canine; sure to inspire budding animal rescue advocates.
Arfy—a big-eyed dog with a heart to match—uses his letter-writing skills to find a home for a stray kitten.
This sequel to the New York Times bestseller Can I Be Your Dog? (2018) begins with an entry from Arfy’s diary in his easily readable handwriting. Arfy explains how his usual Tuesday pursuits—digging up a stick and barking at a bird—were interrupted by a new smell. He followed his nose and found an adorable, piteous kitten whom he named Scamper. Arfy reveals that he cannot keep the homeless feline because “my person is allergic to cats.” So, he tests out various owners for Scamper—a music teacher, a set of triplet babies, an auto mechanic, a glamorous movie agent, and a tchotchke-collecting cat fancier. He writes letters to each candidate explaining why Scamper would be a good fit for them. But each time, the arrangement doesn’t work and the prospective adopters send Scamper back along with apologetic letters explaining why various aspects of the kitten’s behavior don’t pass muster. Just when all hope seems lost, Scamper chalks a message on the pavement that helps Arfy find his new friend a perfect home, one where he can be himself. The letters and diary entries appear as facsimiles accompanied by amusing, colorful cartoony art. Much of the humor stems from the fact that the animals’ earnest and formal correspondence is full of fun wordplay. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More fun with a lovable, literate canine; sure to inspire budding animal rescue advocates. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-38007-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dragonfly Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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