I Like Sticks!

(Reviewed by Sophie)

I admit some anxiety when I was first shown Libby’s newest book, I Like Sticks. Just the word stick causes me to salivate and tremble with anticipation. I consider myself a stick connoisseur of sorts, picking out the perfect stick for the occasion; whether or not said stick is still attached to the tree, or so long that I whack my human’s legs as I race by, I know my sticks. So how could this strange-looking little dog write an entire book about sticks? I could do that. I could.

But since I didn’t and Libby did, I must admit that I Like Sticks is an inspiring book for sticklers like me. Libby does not discriminate in her choice of stick. Size matters not. And for her, sharing a stick is sublime fun. I prefer to keep my sticks to myself, but to each her own.

My favorite picture in this book is Libby sitting on the remains of a tree. She writes: “Can you guess how many sticks this tree produced? I can’t. I’m stumped.” I am too. I hadn’t realized that sticks came from stumps until reading this book. So Libby taught me something I didn’t know, and there’s not much I don’t know. Especially when it comes to sticks. Just saying.

If you like sticks, you’ll love this book. If you like dogs, you’ll love this book. But if you are a cat or prefer balls, you might as well go buy another book. (My cat Nellie cares nothing for sticks.  Maybe she’d read a book about sleeping, because that is what she likes.)