PATIENCE, PATCHES!

A young pup is good at waiting, but a whole new level of patience is required when a new baby arrives.

Patience comes easily to Patches. The pooch waits for their moms to wake up and throw the ball. There’s more waiting in store when they pack a bag and say they'll be back soon, but when they return and the waiting is finally done, they bring home something new. “It’s a milky-smelling blanket bundle. Does it play? Does it speak? What is it for?” Suddenly there's more waiting than ever before: through diaper changes and feedings and sleepless nights and, most of all, through the little bundle's growth into a crawling, adventurous playmate. Mihaly has managed a balance of urgent present tense (most appropriate for a canine narrator) and quiet, wondering pauses that gentle the pace even as Patches' observations remain a little scattered. A warm palette draws readers into Murray's cozy family tableaux as well as more frenetic spreads of infant and pup playtime. Baby and birthing mom are brown-skinned with dark curly hair, and baby's other mom is White with wavy red hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Sweet and fluffy.