Review by Booklist Review
A simply drawn Kitty with an orange ring around one eye likes to cuddle. But who is her favorite friend to snuggle with? Tiny Mouse, with its teen-weeny cuddle? Feathery Peacock, with its bright cuddle? Or Spiky Porcupine, who offers a careful prickly cuddle? With its simple text, this hits the mark for very young children on laps or in groups. Each animal cuddle is framed in a two-page spread, with the animals taking up most of the space. The charming art has the look of the sort done by a talented child; colorful, subtly designed backgrounds will remind kids of their own work with finger paints. Only the end slightly disappoints. It's Baby Brother who gives the best cuddles, but some children might have expected a child more like them. Still, awfully cute. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-With which friend does Kitty love to cuddle best? Is it Tiny Mouse, "prickly" Porcupine, "squidgy" Frog, "squeezy" Octopus, or a host of other animals featured one per spread? Though seemingly a tough call, Kitty's new baby brother is ultimately revealed as the paws-down favorite. Cabrera's trademark eye-catching, lush colors are used to full advantage on every page. While Kitty's never-changing expression is monotonous, the animal friends are rendered with a verve that catches the essence of the other creatures and splashes it vibrantly across the pages. While it's all slightly precious, youngsters will be riveted by the bold pictures and find comfort in Kitty's predictable exploits.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Who is Kitty's favorite snuggling partner? It's not ""Tiny Mouse with his teeny-weeny cuddle"" or ""Happy Frog with her squidgy, quidgy cuddle."" Instead, as Kitty demonstrates on the last spread, ""It's my new baby brother!"" While the end is a bit of a let-down, Cabrera's well-chosen vocabulary and childlike paintings with visible brush strokes add pizzazz. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A boisterous kitty playfully debates the merits of hugging various critters before deciding hugging baby brother is the best cuddle of all. Exuberantly rendered in Cabrera's signature bold, painterly style, the vibrantly colored full-bleed animals look almost touchable while bright, patterned backgrounds saturated with color make the hugging duos pop off the page. As the big-eyed tan-and-white kitten tries to determine a "favorite friend to cuddle," the fuzzy tot meets and is enveloped by animals as varied as a luxuriously patterned peacock, an oversized teddy bear, and even a coral-colored octopus with safely rounded, drifting tentacles. Using lighthearted language sure to appeal to little ones, the kitten reflects on what makes each hug special: A small mouse has a "teeny-weeny cuddle" and an elephant, "a big strong" one while even potentially off-putting creatures like a "spiky" porcupine or "scaly" armadillo have reassuring (if leprous, for the latter) cuddles. It's gratifying to see the little kitty's progress from seeking cuddles to being large and in charge when readers meet the new baby brother on the last page. Resized from Cabrera's 2007 picture book of the same name, this is one of those rare board-book adaptations that works well thanks to her brief, toddler-friendly text and emphatic illustration style. Lap-sit readers will eagerly snuggle up for their own cuddles. (Board book. 6 mos.-3) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
