School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 1-In the first book, a fat cat does everything a proper feline should-he flops on beds, purrs, chases birds, sleeps all day, and prowls all night. He is a great companion for his young owner. One sentence of text faces a full-page illustration; the pictures are bold and funny. The point of the book, about the friendship between the boy and his pet, is well taken. Who Do I Look Like? takes a child's question and walks readers through the answers-you look like your sister, your mother, your father-until it reaches the most important message: "A little bit of Mom and a little bit of Dad-makes me!" The pictures are bold and humorous and show a racially diverse family. In Who Needs Friends?, a boy enumerates all the instances when he has remembered friends' birthdays. Now, it seems that everyone, including his teacher, has forgotten his. Not to be downcast, he concludes that he can make his own birthday card, his own cupcakes, and so forth. The story ends, however, with a surprise party. This book deals well with the early childhood anxiety about being remembered, and the pictures are appropriately expressive.-Eve Ottenberg Stone, Cooper Lane Elementary, Landover Hills, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.