Title: The Welcome Home

Author: Amy June Bates

Illustrator: Amy June Bates

Publisher/Year: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/2023

Favorite Line from the Book: There on their doorstep was a very soft, very waggy, very lick-your-face-play-fetch-roll-over-rub-its-belly-and-chase-its-tail sort of a thing.

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This silly and heartwarming book, written and illustrated by Amy June Bates, is for animal lovers (like me) and anyone who wishes they could fill their home with lots of pets, big ones, small ones, ordinary ones, and rather unusual ones. Aardvark anyone? How about a buffalo? Or maybe a whale?

The Welcome Home is about a couple, Mr. and Ms. Gargleson-Bittle, who live together in a big house and feel that something is missing. So they get a pet and then another and then another and begin to fill the empty space in their home. They love all of their animals, from the snail to the panda to the orangutan to the octopus (and many more), but something is still missing, something very soft, very waggy, and very lick-your-face-play-fetch-roll-over-rub-its-belly-and-chase-its-tail-y. It’s a good thing they have room in their hearts for just one more to make their family complete.

The text of The Welcome Home is simple, but children will get a kick out of meeting each new animal as it’s introduced, names and all. The cover is colorful and eye catching, but I’m not as enthusiastic about the interior art. Some of the pages are a bit dark and cluttered, making the illustrations, which are done in colored pencil, hard to “read.” That said, I think kids will still find the pictures of happy, playful animals appealing and laugh-out-loud funny in this book that Kirkus Reviews called, in a starred review, an instant classic. After all, who wouldn’t like a donkey howling at the moon or a flock of ducklings nesting in their hair?

Yep, I’m an animal lover to the core. I adore spending time with my dog. I enjoy watching nature programs on TV. Visiting the zoo is one of my favorite pastimes, and I want to bring all of the animals home with me. I’d love to put an elephant in my backyard. But, alas, I’m pretty sure my town has restrictions against it. I wonder how they’d feel about a giraffe? Hmm…🤔

I guess most of us will have to settle for reading picture books about animals. And that’s great news because those are some of my favorite books! And kids love them too!