Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo

Buffalo Fluffalo

by Bess Kalb

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Fluffalo has had enuffalo when his quiet prairie life is turned upside down by the arrival of his new sibling, Puffalo, in this sweet and funny follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestselling Buffalo Fluffalo!

Every day, Buffalo Fluffalo goes about his usual routine. He munches all the grass he can eat, frolics and rollicks with his friends, and at noontime, lies down for a nap in the shade. But one morning, Fluffalo wakes up to a loud wailing cry and, to his surprise, finds a little buffalo named Puffalo with the tiniest, shiniest eyes!

At first, Fluffalo does not like Puffalo. “What does it need?” he huffs in alarm. But Crow wisely explains that Puffalo doesn't need much—just time to learn and grow. Slowly, Fluffalo watches as Puffalo learns to trip, slip, gallop, and trot. He teaches Puffalo to eat plants and to keep away from red ants. Together, the two take long strolls and snuggle for naps. And even though Puffalo sometimes slows him down, Fluffalo realizes that life is much better with Puffalo by his side.

From national bestseller and Emmy-nominated comedy writer Bess Kalb comes this hilarious tale featuring the surly Buffalo Fluffalo and introducing his new sibling, Puffalo. Illustrated by the talented Erin Kraan, readers will delight in the loving message about the joy of discovering that the yelly, smelly, squiggly, and short new sibling might be a tiny bit cute.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Friendship, Family, Storytime, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2025

About the author

Bess Kalb is an Emmy Award-nominated writer for the Jimmy Kimmel Live! television show and journalist with The New Yorker magazine. She is the author of the best-selling book, Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told to Me) Story, which recounts the life of her grandmother, Bobby Bell.

Reviews

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for my toddler's bedtime. Beautiful illustrations! This story followed Buffalo as he browse the prairie spring day. He ate, played , and napped. He wandered and when nighttime came, he found himself a place to sleep. Then a loud wailing cry woke him up. He was mad at first until he met the little creature who made that noise. At first he didn't like the little one but as time went on, he grew fond of it. Great story! And I just loved the illustrations!

Thank you Randomhousekids for the opportunity to read and review.

[hav! · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a decent read, but there was a missed opportunity to give some more sentience to Puffalo. Buffalo Fluffalo's lack of opposition struck me as bizarre. He had just formed this community that was now threatened by a new force. Bess Kalb seemed to have played it a bit safe with his emotional arc. I wanted to see more of a push-and-pull between Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo, especially given the former's reluctance to open up. Why did he overcome his apprehension so easily? Puffalo was also a mute character, and this seemed like a weird choice. I wanted dialogue, some semblance of personality to tie to him. Instead he's more of a shadow and obligatorily cute presence, who doesn't do nearly enough to rattle his senior Buffalo.

The forest animals also make minimal appearances. The world felt grainy, when I think we had the chance here to show the new life Buffalo Fluffalo established for himself. Overall, I think I just would have directed the text in another creative direction, but there's no doubting the strength of the characters, and the overwhelming cuteness of Puffalo!!!

i need an emotional support puffalo NEOWWWWWW

[Penny Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and cute with adorable illustrations.

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"just as dawn cast its first light in the sky,
Old Buffalo woke to a loud wailing cry. Waaaaaa."

Buffalo Fluffalo has left behind his grumpy ways...maybe. He's made friends with the various prairie critters but even his newfound non-grumpy self is no match for the *drumroll* puffalo.

"I don't like this thing!" Fluff announced with a snort.
"It's all yelly and smelly and squigglish and short!"

Poor Buffalo Fluffalo is stuck with this new Puffalo. This is horrible, the worst...and actually kind of the best?

"And with that, Puff sneezed with a whizzling toot
And old buffalo realized...He's a tiny bit...cute?"

Maybe (just maybe) having a little puffalo around isn't so bad...(though Buffalo Fluffalo says the jury is still out!).

I thought this was a really cute cute follow up to the original.

I liked watching Buffalo Fluffalo warm up to his new sibling and start to see the good side of being a big brother. The scenes where Buffalo Fluffal taught Puffalo about the world were really heartwarming.

As with the first book, I really liked the rhyming made-up words, I thought they were a lot of fun to say and I had a great time making up goofy voices for the characters.

I will say, the first time I read it through, I wasn't quite sure if Buffalo Fluffalo was the dad or the brother.

In the first book, he's entirely on his own save for some random prairie animals, which puts Buffalo Fluffalo moreso in the 'adult' category in my brain (even when it was revealed that he was a bit smaller than his fluff indicated, I still didn't think of him as a kiddo).

While the pictures and text in the second book implied brotherly relation, the text also refers to him as "old Buffalo" and he seems to spend his days independently in the first half of the book, so again, I kept thinking he was a confused dad the first time through the book.

But when I read this one through a second time, I realized that there's a picture of Buffalo Fluffalo next to some really large buffalos (presumably the real 'adults') which means he's definitely an older brother.

That being said, the puffalo was so stinking cute. Anything he wants, he will get. I will die for him.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adorable sequel to Buffalo Fluffalo, but also does well as a stand alone. So sweet!

Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Day 259

#FirsttoCheckOut

[Allison Ruffolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

PUFFALO MY SPIRIT ANIMAL

[Nadina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great and adorable sequel. I love the rhyming, I love the plot and the pace. The illustrations are lovely.

[J MaK · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.4) Fluffalo’s matured and learns to think more about the well-being of others.

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the silly sequel to Buffalo Fluffalo. The young buffalo, named Fluffalo, has his life disrupted with the wailing arrival of a baby, named Puffalo! At first, he is alarmed by the “newly born squishily Buffalo Puff”, but he grows to love the little one. The rhyming text includes great vocabulary words, like racket, romp, glum, and stride. An adorable story that could help an older sibling learn about life with a new baby.

Kraan’s illustrations were made through a mix of hand-carved woodcuts, acrylic gouache, and Photoshop. The woodcuts create intricate details in the animals’ fur and add depth to the backgrounds. Fluffalo’s facial expressions throughout the story convey how babies can be stressful, silly, and sweet. The prairie setting is colored with a soft palette of tan, green, yellow, and brown. The prairie animal friend group - other buffalo, a ram, a crow, and a prairie dog - transforms the setting into a thriving ecosystem. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming text and bright, sun-splashed illustrations with hand-carved woodcuts of the characters, scanned and colored in Photoshop, alongside a story showing a change of heart, make this a must as a read aloud. Buffalo Fluffalo is more than a little gruff and set in his ways. But he has a change of attitude when a small buffalo named Puffalo charms its way into his heart with more than his share of cuteness. Those big brown eyes and winsome looks are simply irresistible as the older buffalo takes his new charge under his wing, er, hooves. And while he has to make some accommodations and change his ways, it's worth it.

[CONSTANCE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember Buffalo Fluffalo who was so grumpy and didn’t want or need friends? Well he changed his tune by the end of the story and we find him happily doing his normal day things like eating grass and playing with his friends. But when he lays down for his afternoon nap, he hears a terrible noise. It turns out to be a little buffalo and initially Fluffalo has no use or patience with the little Puffalo (the illustration of this little one is totally adorable). But as time goes on, just like in the prior book, Fluffalo realizes maybe this little one is not so bad and actually needs him to teach him buffalo things.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Buffalo Fluffalo! One morning his sleep is interrupted by a wailing. It doesn't take long to discover the source. A tiny, distressed Puffalo. Buffalo Fluffalo's friends see adorable. But Buffalo Fluffalo? He sees nuisance. But then Puff sneezes and captures Buffalo Fluffalo's heart. After that they are inseperable as Buffalo Fluffalo teaches Puff all things buffalo.

This is a sweet story! Our somewhat gruff Buffalo Fluffalo discovers there is a tiny chink in his heart for a teeny tiny Puffalo. Peek under the dust jacket. The cover is different and delightful.

[Luciana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great story about a buffalo who goes about his daily routine until he hears a noise...a wailing noise! He discovers Puffalo...a very cute baby buffalo who Fluffalo is a bit leery of. As time goes on, the 2 become inseparable.

A beautiful story filled with rhyme & fun language (great vocabulary words), great illustrations, set in the prairies & engages with the prairie ecosystem. It is a wonderful story for preschoolers who are having a younger sibling introduced into the family.

A great read!

[Alisha Hernandez]

"Puffalo doesn't need much, just time to learn and grow." I loved this quote from the book. Buffalo Fluffalo has a routine where he plays with friends, takes a nap, and goes for a walk. He goes to sleep but is woken by a whining sound. He meets Puffalo and doesn't like him very much at first. His friend crow tells him he just needs time. He ends up enjoying his time with Puffalo and teaches him all kinds of things. It was a beautiful, fun story. I think it would be a good story to read to a class. It's important for kids to understand that everyone is still learning and growing!

[Harley Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75★: LESS RHYMEY THAN THE ORIGINAL, BUT CUTER. If it were just me, I would’ve given it a 4.25, as it didn’t seem to have as much huffalo and enuffalo as the original. But the kids both gave it a 5. Puffalo is cute; the artwork is fabulous.

Published just over 7 weeks ago on 9/30/25, Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo currently has a 3.99-star average by 170 GR peeps. The original currently has a 4.22 by 1,510 peeps.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 5 out of 5]

The team behind Buffalo Fluffalo are back with a sequel book Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo. comfortable with his world and routines, Buffalo Fluffalo's life is upset a bit with the arrival of a young sibling Puffalo. As Puffalo learns the ways of Fluffalo, a strong bond is formed between the two. Erin Kraan's illustrations really capture the action and mood well.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Buffalo Fluffalo story. Fluff is all grown up and has a beloved routine that is interrupted by the wailing of a...buffalo calf. Fluff is not pleased with this turn of events at all. With the help of the other prairie animals, Fluff eventually takes the tiny Puff under his hoof and teaches him the ropes of life.

Cute. Could be fun in storytime.

[Simplekind · Rating 5 out of 5]

I squealed out loud when I saw this at my library. That is not normally a sound I make but I was ecstatic to find this book. It is adorable. My 8-year old loved listen to it and so did the first grade classroom I read it to. I WANT MORE FLUFFALO!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

sequel to Buffalo fluffalo, kids love the silly rhyming text. this would make a great gift for a child getting a new brother or sister. puffalo wails and is stinky but eventually Buffalo decides he likes him and helps teach him things.

[Bonnie Thrasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable. Buffalo Fluffalo is used to moseying around doing what he wants at his own pace. One day he finds Puffalo, a buffalo baby. Grouchy Buffalo Fluffalo soon finds this irritating creature quite remarkable indeed.

[Jordan Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same great art and rhymes as before, but this book is dull. Nothing really happens. where did Puffalo come from? The summary said Fluffalo would have to deal with change, but he didn’t, he just included Puffalo in his regular routine.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buffalo Fluffalo is back and gets to meet a new friend. Of course, he doesn't think of this tiny creature that way until they spend time together. Amusing story of a baby calf and an older buffalo learning to get along.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Buffalo buffalo is very grumpy about being Disturbed, but then he finds a lost baby buffalo. I did not like that this book rhymed. I thought he was going to help the baby find his mom. This gets a no from me.

[Mariann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puffalo is so cute, props to the illustrator for giving life and expression to that character! The openness and simplicity of the storyline leaves openings to take about adoption, baby siblings, or even new friends!

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable!! I love it! It's so touching and sweet. Parents will relate to this story. I can't wait to own a copy myself!

[Roxana Rathbun]

I'm so excited for this!

[Kara at The Page Society · Rating 4 out of 5]

So Cute. Loved it, a great addition to the Buffalo Fluffalo series.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

i would die for buffalo fluffalo and puffalo

[Serhiy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good picture book for children greeting used to new siblings. The illustrations are cute and the rhyming verse progresses the narration well.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute!