#isabel serna

2024-05-18, 1000, “Crazy Plant Lady”

Isabel Serna’s Dog Mom: A Love Story is a fun and adorable picture book celebrating woman’s relationship with the four-legged furry love of her life. I love the cute full-colour illustrations and the funny anecdotes.

This is a fully illustrated collection of charming anecdotes exploring daily life as a dog mom. The book also features fun trivia. Did you know that people in Ancient China kept warm by putting dogs up their sleeves? Also, no two dogs’ noseprints are the same! There are also cute depictions of the different types of dog moms, certain situations before and after becoming a dog mom as well as instances of ‘you know you’re a crazy dog mom when’, and famous dog stars.

This is such a cute, heartwarming, and relatable book! Serna wonderfully captures the special relationship between a woman and her beloved pup. The art style is soft and adorable. I absolutely love the cheerfully bright and colourful full-page illustrations. I adore all the lovely little details in the pictures. There are a variety of different dog breeds whose sweet faces are crafted with distinct personalities. Other things like the depictions of the different items in dog moms’ pantry shelves as well as the doggie decals on the dog moms’ clothes are nice touches which really brings the art to life.

I also love the diversity of the dog moms. There is a range of skin-tones: light and dark-skinned dog moms as well as hijab-wearing moms. There are also several different hair types, body types, and even some dog moms sporting tattoos.

But, I’m not the biggest fan of some of the typography. Although the lettering is cute and suits the fun nature of the book, it is sometimes a little difficult to read. I really wish it was clearer.

Dog Mom: A Love Story is an adorable and sweet book with lovely illustrations. This book will definitely put a big smile on your face. I am excited to check out more of Serna’s work!

Thank you to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for this book in exchange for an honest review.