SALLY'S NEW LOOK

More excitement is on the horizon for Sally.

When the small pooch, whom readers may recognize from Sally’s Big Day (2023), and two of her humans go out, they walk past the park and even the coffee shop. Where can they be going? At the top of some steps, they meet a man named Omar. “Omar’s place smells like a garden. Sally sees combs and brushes and bows.” Omar puts her in the sink with lots of bubbles (Sally enjoys biting them). After the bath comes the hair dryer. It’s loud, but it blows soothing warm air. Then Omar clips and cuts and trims Sally’s fur, and she gets a biscuit for being such a good dog. Her humans return to the shop, and they have new looks, too! Once home for a nap, Sally dreams of those fun bubbles. Larsen and Lo team up again to bring sweet pup Sally’s simple adventures to life. The tale is told in short, declarative (or interrogative) sentences. Lo’s digitally created artwork is soft and leans toward the pastel. Toddlers who are trepidatious about their first trips to the barber or the salon will identify and be calmed…and probably want to play with bubbles. Sally’s family is light-skinned, and Omar is dark-skinned.

Reassurance that new experiences don’t have to be scary.