Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)

Abbey's Special Gift by Diane Capogna might just be the perfect little 10-minute bedtime/circle-time children's book!

Like a refreshing cool breeze, it's brief, gentle, yet incredibly satisfying.

Abbey's Special Gift is the direct sequel to Puppy Comes Home, a heartwarming, adorable, emotional, and beautiful book that concerned the life and times of Abbey Rose, a beloved Great Dane pup who was born with a unique and special white pattern on her fur as well as being the biggest of her whole litter. She was also born with an exceptionally big heart (literally) due to a rare condition which severely limited the length of her life. However, it did not limit her incredible, compelling experiences and the impact she had on others. She made the best of every moment!

It was a multi-time OCA award-winning book for a good reason—rather, for a lot of good reasons!

Abbey's Special Gift shines a light on one of the most precious, powerful, and beautiful moments of Abbey Rose's life: Abbey Rose's 2nd birthday and gaining the company of a new puppy sister, Gypsy May!

What's incredible about this story and the character dynamics is that Gypsy May serves as a bit of a foil and point of comparison for Abbey Rose herself. Gypsy May is also a special pup with the same coloration/pattern and discovered rather spontaneously (found among a collection of lost and unclaimed dogs in an animal control truck on the road).

Similar to Abbey Rose, Gypsy May is also a sort of blacksheep, giving Abbey Rose someone she can relate to.

It's amusing to also see Abbey Rose interact with the other animals in book including her dogs friends, Emma, Rudy, and Bullet, as well as her cat friends, chief of which is Precious, whom she considers her cat-sister.

The book does a very good job at establishing and putting forward the idea that Abbey Rose has many relationships with other pets and animals, but none that fully fulfill her in a way that a true doggy sister would. This leaves Abbey (and the reader) with a sense of longing that she will find someone—another dog just like her. So, when it finally happens, we're ecstatic!

It's also adorable and hilarious how Abbey Rose isn't immediately sure or comfortable with Gypsy May being around. It's not an insta-love. Abbey Rose takes quite a while to acclimate to Gypsy May being around and taking up a lot of the attention.

She also needs to get used to the fact that Gypsy May smells bad (in her opinion) and that she'll be playing with a lot of Abbey's old toys and eating Abbey's food. In a sense, it seems like Abbey Rose becomes a bit territorial (as many of us would be).

In probably the funniest panel of the whole book, Abbey Rose holds up a sign on the bed that reads, “New Dogs Not Allowed” so that she can hog the space on the bed, something that domesticated animals are known to do.

However, the sisters gradually grow closer, bonding over time through playing together and sharing gifts. It is truly beautiful and heartwarming to see these two cuties connect with each other as the book goes along.

It should be noted that this book is illustrated by Anthony Richichi, our 2023 Artist of the Year! This may be one of his better works. Abbey Rose, in particular, always looks lively, adorable, and excellent overall. Gypsy May & Precious also look cute, expressive, and adorable.

There are times when the Jason's (the husband) neck appears too short or his traps appear too large. This is especially apparent on the first page he appears on and the last. Maybe he has a shorter neck or large traps in real life. It's not the biggest deal. Diane looks great and consistent throughout the book.

It should also be noted that the book also does a good job at showing us how Abbey Rose desires to be a contributing member of society, aspiring to be a therapy and/or service animal for the sick and disabled. One of our favorite panels involves Abbey Rose researching service animals on a computer as if she's a human.

This is a beautiful and heartwarming book with very little text, making it perfect for reading times with younger children.