I'm the Best - Hardcover

Cousins, Lucy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763646849 ISBN 13: 9780763646844

Publisher: Candlewick, 2010

Synopsis

A boastful dog gets a taste of his own medicine in a tale about friendship
that features the bold, exuberant art of Lucy Cousins at its best. (Ages 2-5)

"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?

About this title

About the Author:

Lucy Cousins is the author-illustrator of many books for children, including HOORAY FOR FISH!, YUMMY: EIGHT FAVORITE FAIRY TALES, and the wildly popular Maisy series. Lucy Cousins’s books have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. She lives in Hampshire, England.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* High-spirited and self-centered, Dog competes with his four friends, one by one. He outruns Mole in a race, beats Goose in a digging contest, bests Ladybug in terms of size, and swims better than Donkey. Each time, he announces, “I win. I’m the best.” His friends feel sad until they realize that Mole’s the best digger, Duck’s the best swimmer, Donkey’s the biggest, and Ladybug can fly highest. Suddenly realizing that he has been “a silly SHOW-OFF” and mean to his friends, downcast Dog apologizes. After they reassure him that they value his friendship and admire his “beautiful fluffy ears,” his irrepressible bravado surges again. Dog’s simple, childlike narration moves the story forward while making the most of this distinctive character and his flip-flopping emotional state, from his thoughtless, heartless declarations of superiority to his glum realization that he has hurt his friends to his final exclamation about the supreme importance of fluffy ears. The book’s large format gives plenty of range for Cousins’ naive, expressive pencil-and-ink illustrations. 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. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Carolyn Phelan

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0763646849
• ISBN 13: 9780763646844
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Cousins Lucy