I'm the Best

by Lucy Cousins, Lucy Cousins (Illustrator)

Overview

"A joyous spirit pervades this picture book and its fallible yet lovable protagonist." — Booklist (starred review)

"I win! I’m the best!" Dog boasts. He can run faster than Mole, dig better than Goose, swim faster than Donkey, and he’s much bigger than Ladybug. He wins! Unfortunately, Dog’s nonstop bragging is starting to make his friends feel kind of sad. But what if they mixed things up and looked at them differently? Could they teach Dog a lesson — and remind him of what it means to be a best friend?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763663483
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/26/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

  

Editorial Reviews

From the exuberant text to the bold, colorful artwork, a joyous spirit pervades this picture book and its fallible yet lovable protagonist. Fine for reading aloud to preschoolers who suspect that they may be fallible yet hope that they are still lovable.
—Booklist (starred review)

As always, Cousins invigorates her cartoons with color and charm. Her splotches and whirls convey depth and movement. The simply drawn characters have a comic flair and, like Ladybug in her tutu, beguile upon first glance. This well-told tale of competitive obsession belongs in all collections.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

Jubilant colors buoy this profile of a braggart. "I'm the best," announces an orange-and-red canine, three limbs raised gleefully. Competition with his pals (Ladybug, Mole, Goose and Donkey) trumps fondness: "I love them. They're great, but I'm the best." Dog trumpets, "I win. I'm the best," after each victory-all rigged via selection of competitor. Of course Dog digs holes better than Goose and swims better than Donkey, but what if hole-digging were matched against Mole and swimming against Goose? The new winners are each best at something, while sore loser Dog sobs that he's "horrible at everything" and was "mean to my friends." He apologizes; they assure him he's the best at "being our best friend" and "having beautiful fluffy ears." Apparently you can't teach an old Dog new tricks, though, for braggadocio gets the last word: "Oh, phew! Obviously having beautiful fluffy ears is the most important thing. So I AM the best." Relish Cousins's lusciously vibrant, liquid-textured inks and the thick pencil lines that boldly match the boasting. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews