Hello, friends! Our book today is Mr. Fuzzbuster Knows He’s The Favorite, written by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by Edward Hemingway, a delightfully silly yet sweet tale of a little girl’s loving – yet feuding – pets.

Mr. Fuzzbuster and his human girl Lily have been the best of friends forever, ever since he was a kitten and she was in diapers. They do everything together: crafts, meals, playtime, naps, etc. And while Lily may have other pets – a dog, a lizard, a fish, and a parrot to be exact – Mr. Fuzzbuster knows he’s Lily’s favorite. He even has proof: an old crayon drawing of him with the word “favorit” scrawled on it that Lily made for him. However, the other pets have the audacity to insist that no, THEY are Lily’s favorite! Mr. Fuzzbuster decides to settle this the best way he can – he writes a note to Lily on the back of his crayon drawing, asking her who her favorite is. Mr. Fuzzbuster isn’t worried; he knows where he ranks… or does he?

This one was pure fun from start to finish. The text is lighthearted with touches of wry comedy, and does an especially humorous job of capturing the personalities of each animal; the dramatic imperiousness of Mr. Fuzzbuster is exactly what I would imagine a cat like him would sound like if it could talk. The story is clever and has a nice message about love and friendship not being a competition, which can be important for little ones just beginning to form sibling and playmate relationships. The art does a wonderful job of expressing the text, even adjusting color and tone to fit what is happening in the story. The length was great, and JJ had a blast with this one. A fantastic read – particularly for little animal lovers – and it’s Baby Bookworm approved.