It's almost Stick Bug's birthday, and his fashionable friend Beetle can't wait to give him his present--a purple puffy coat! The coat draws a lot of attention and makes Stick Bug really stick out in the crowd. Beetle thinks that's terrific! He brings Stick Bug all over town, happily boasting and bragging (while Stick Bug waits behind a tree, in a pile of leaves, or under a bench). Oh, dear--maybe Stick Bug isn't as wild about the purple puffy coat as Beetle is! What can the two friends do? Charming illustrations bring to life both characters' endearing struggles in this warm and humorous story about learning to pay attention to what makes your friend happy rather than what makes you happy.
Daniel Duncan is the author-illustrator of the picture book South and the illustrator of Mr. Posey's New Glasses, written by Ted Kooser, among other books for children. Daniel Duncan lives outside London.
Squat, mustachioed Beetle makes a humorous counterpart to slender, bespectacled Stick Bug, and the addition of the voluminous purple coat to the latter's stickly form is especially amusing. It's clear no misbegotten coat will come between the two antennaed friends, and a quick repurposing by Stick Bug allows them both to enjoy it.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books