Princess Puffybottom . . . and Darryl

October 1, 2018
Princess Puffybottom's purrrrfect life is spoiled by a puppy named Darryl.Fluffy, black kitty Princess Puffybottom's two female "subjects" pamper her appropriately. They feed her yummy meals (even if they sometimes need reminding) and take care of "delicate matters" (litterbox, you know). Princess Puffybottom indulges their whims, the petting and the play, until they surprise her with Darryl, a dog! "He was horrible. He was disgusting. He was an animal!" Illustrating this in sequential vignettes, Darryl eats a sock, vomits it up, and eats it again. The princess tries everything from hypnosis to sabotage to rid herself of Darryl, but nothing works. Her subjects notice nothing of her shenanigans--they seem preoccupied with other matters. Eventually familiarity does its work. Yes, Darryl's annoying, but Princess Puffybottom finds he has uses (such as liberating tasty morsels from the trash), and he does worship her, so life's "good again. At least her subjects wouldn't be bringing home any more surprises." Readers, however, will have noticed that what her two subjects--a black woman and an Asian woman--have been occupied with in the background are preparations for a baby. Nielsen's tale and Mueller's digitally created pooch and puss pair perfectly, the princess acting as a nice stand-in for a pampered first child. The light touch of humor and twist at the end make this a must for storytime collections.Princess and Darryl need a sequel. (Picture book. 3-8)

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March 4, 2019
Princess Puffybottom, a dignified cat with a feathery black tail, is not pleased when her two mothers (“her subjects”) bring home Darryl, a light brown puppy with a slurping tongue: “He was horrible. He was disgusting. He was an animal!” She rejoices when it seems that Darryl has gone away—but he returns wearing a cone and garners cuddles from their humans. Attempts to frame Darryl don’t work, and the princess is left despondent. But she begins to notice the dog’s good qualities: he’s useful when it comes to getting into the garbage and, anyway, he “worshipped her.” A final spread reveals a new surprise: the couple has added a newborn child to the family. Mueller’s frisky digital cartoons flaunt the pets’ differing personalities, making their eventual coziness all the more tender. Ages 3–7.

January 1, 2019
Preschool-G Princess Puffybottom (a cat) has quite the life, and her subjects treat her like royalty; that is, until an unsophisticated dog named Darryl shows up to ruin everything. She tries hypnosis, trickery, and sabotage on her subjects to get Darryl banished, all to no avail. Eventually he's so charming that even this perturbed princess decides to relent, and an unlikely friendship is formed. The tale is warmly �familiar?one pet slowly warming to a new pet being brought home?and it's gently told, with fun nods to medieval language (like wanting Darryl banished) that keep it feeling new. The illustrations of Princess Puffybottom are strokably soft, and the interplay between the text and images?specifically the jokes they work together to tell?create a nice sheen of humor. Kudos to the creators for a subtle secondary story line and an elbow nudge of a surprise ending, as the multiracial female couple who owns both pets bring home a surrogate baby that is about to upend Princess Puffybottom's world yet again. We'll save that for the sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)