Best Day Ever!

April 15, 2021
Preschool-Grade 1 *Starred Review* In this winning boy-dog friendship story, a small dog, whose boy uses a wheelchair, narrates her own adventures on a day that might look ordinary to us and to her boy but that, for the dog, is filled with the highest highs and lowest lows. The dog speaks in short, rhyming bursts, a nice equivalent to barking. She wakes up, licks her boy's face as the boy moves from bed to wheelchair, hands him a dropped sock, and then they're off on a day that includes going to the park and watching in horror as the dog chases a snake into the lake. For the dog, this is part of her refrain: "Best day ever!" But things go south after the dog rolls around on a dead fish and the boy reacts poorly to her smell, and again when the dog knocks over a lamp after a much-needed bath. It's then the "worst day ever," until the boy's forgiveness sets things right. Nixon's illustrations reflect the dog's changing moods and include loads of comic detail. A fun romp.

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Starred review from April 15, 2021
An energetic puppy narrates a day with her boy. In the morning, she licks the face of her "best friend," a boy with light brown skin who uses a manual wheelchair, "glad that [they're] a pair." In quick, rhythmic rhymes, she bounds along--chasing a cat, stealing a Frisbee, snatching a hot dog from disgruntled pigeons, and scaring a snake--to the titular refrain: "Best day ever!" But the tune changes when she rolls on a "nice dead fish." "Down, girl! You get off me! / Phewy, what's that smell?" yells her boy as she gazes up with heart-meltingly mournful eyes. "Not the best day ever," she laments as she endures a sudsy bath. And when she accidentally knocks over a lamp, her boy's exasperation is finally too much: "Worst day ever." Soon, however, the boy comforts the dejected pup, apologizing for shouting: "I know it wasn't cool. / I think we need more lessons. / We'll go to training school." The friendship restored, a huge, jubilant "Best day ever!" arcs across a sunset-tinged double-page spread, the exclamation point finished off with a tennis ball the narrator has leapt to catch. Illustrator Nixon, herself a wheelchair user, captures the bond between boy and dog with bold lines, bright, sun-laced colors, and endearing expressions, tenderly demonstrating that love is unconditional--a message that will reassure readers as well as their furry friends. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 56.3% of actual size.) An exuberant dog's-eye view of friendship and forgiveness. (Picture book. 4-6)

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