I Love My Fur!

by Kelly Leigh Miller

In this delightful follow-up to I Love My Fangs! , a little Bigfoot learns that while it’s important to love yourself, sharing that love is what truly matters.

Little Bigfoot loves his fur. Everyone else loves it, too. It is fluffy! It is soft! It is all anyone wants to talk about—until they’d rather talk about something else.

But how is Bigfoot supposed to show his friends how much he cares about them if he can’t share the thing he loves?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Monsters, Halloween, Juvenile, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2021

About the author

I'm an illustrator and author who grew up in the horse state (Lousiville, KY) and now reside in eternal winter (Chicago, IL.) Represented by Thao Le of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
I've written many books you have not read yet, since they are scheduled for future publishing dates. Keep a look out for I Am A Wolf brought to you in 2019 by Dial and a secret children's book that will be revealed later also brought to you by Dial in the distant year of 2020!

Reviews

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! We’re wrapping up spooky season this year with our last Halloween-inspired review: I Love My Fur! by Kelly Leigh Miller, a clever and hair-raising tale about humility.

Taking place in the same monster- and cryptid-filled classroom of Miller’s previous work, I Love My Fangs!, this title centers around young Bigfoot, a creature of head-to-toe hair. After receiving some lovely compliments on their lustrous locks, Bigfoot begins to develop quite the ego, attempting to turn all conversations to their fur and offering unsolicited advice on how others can achieve such beautiful long hair. Bigfoot even refuses to get a furcut, leading the hair to grow to lengths that are disruptive and cumbersome to the other kids in class. At last, Bigfoot begins to realize that their hair is actually keeping friends away, as is their behavior regarding it. Fortunately, this clever cryptid knows just what to do.

Delightful. First, as fans of I Love My Fangs!, it was awesome to get a closer look at the mythical creature elementary class briefly glimpsed in that title. Once again, Miller adds subtle and wonderfully clever details and visual gags that make the classroom scenes a treat for readers of all ages, such as the gorgon child wearing sunglasses or little Dracula reading about teeth. And the concise, conversational dialogue does double duty, using approachable language to explore topics like narcissism and self-centeredness in a way that younger readers can connect and empathize with. I was also pleased by how Bigfoot is never explicitly gendered – it’s a subtle choice but an important one when talking about self-image. It’s very well done, and a fun read to boot. The length is perfect for a storytime, and JJ loved it, especially the large and easy-to-read print. A spooky story with a great message, and we liked it! Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bigfoot loves his fur. It's softness and shine. In fact, he loves it so much he becomes rather obsessed with it. He refuses to get it cut and it grows and grows until it starts getting in the way. His friends become uncomfortable around him and his constant bragging. And when Bigfoot's fur takes over the world almost, he has to make a choice. His friends or his fur. The perils of self-obsession and bragging shine through very clearly in this amusing book about the need for give-and-take in any friendship. The illustrations are bright and colorful and appealing. The exaggerated nature of the story prevents the message about pride from becoming didactic and heavy-handed. Pair with Miller's I Love My Fangs for a wild and wooly story time.

[Pastels Passions · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am pretty sure I will be reading every book in this series of self-love monster books.

[Sirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bigfoot has the best hair ever; all his friends say so. In fact, it's a little strange that they never talk about anything else around him. I wonder why not? But it doesn't really matter because Bigfoot's hair is the best. But wait, where did all the friends go?

This is an adorable little book with fun illustrations. It isn't subtle about noting that if one only talks about oneself, others might feel left out. This moral is portrayed in a silly yet meaningful way. I love that the book includes a variety of cryptids and mythical creatures.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bigfoot loves his fur and his friends tell him how great his fur is. Bigfoot gets so involved in the beauty of his fur that he forgets about his friends. Suddenly, everything is about Bigfoot and his fur. “Maybe if you brush your fur every day, it will look like mine!” Even when his friends have no hair or snakes for hair, Bigfoot still gives them advice. Until finally his friends have had enough.

Fun illustrations.

[Bryan Loar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kelly Leigh Miller tackles the balance between narcissism and self love in her latest book to be published on May 4, 2020. Parallels with books that celebrate “hair love” may be problematic as the message in Miller’s book is to temper such feelings when they don’t take others into consideration. The illustrations will appeal to a young audience. Preliminary proofs were consulted.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this picture book to be pretty vague and not super engaging. I didn't feel like the author made the point very clear...especially for the ages this book seems to be geared towards. I didn't love the text being spread over multiple pages or the heavy use of speech bubbles.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely cute book about a little big foot who gets carried away admiring his long flowing hair until his friends literally get lost in it. Only then does he remember to think about them. Big foot goes to school with an eagle, vampire, witch medusa and other cryptids all adorably drawn.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations from the different monsters in this story to the way the main character's hair grew out. I like the message of the story, but, like a lot of social and emotional concepts, it is hard to explain effectively. I'm not sure how I would fit this one into a storytime.

[Alicia Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

For: spooky fans; readers looking for funny book about learning the lesson that everything is not always about you.

Possible red flags: so much hair/fur; not being aware of other people's feelings/lack of empathy.

[Lisa D]

Loved it! Cute book!

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bigfoot learns to care about others and not just love his beautiful fur.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good reminder that to need to allow your friends to talk about what interests them instead of always just focusing on yourself.

[Alice]

3 stars for this book about what can happen when our friends praise us for our appearance

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful!

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knowing that other people love their things too is such an important developmental milestone for little ones...I was happy to see it messaged in such a playful way here.

[skcocnaH · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are 5/5. Content isn’t my fave.

[Danni Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable depictions of supernatural creature children with different interests and personalities. Loved the disability and body diversity representation in the illustrations! What a fun book.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this one randomly on one of my book review newsletters and it looked adorable. The title character is Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch and he really loves his fur! He loves it so much he cannot stop talking about, and starts ignoring his family and friends as a result. Eventually he realizes that it is ruining the way his friends and family see and interact with him, he starts taking more an interest in what they like and soon everything is back to normal. It was a cute premise/concept to explain to kids and I liked that it had Dracula, an eagle, Medusa and other supernatural creatures. Recommended for ages 4-8, 3 stars. 

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought "I Love My Fangs" was so cute--and this was a great return to that world and cast of characters. Bigfoot is a little self-absorbed with the fabulousness of his hair, bulldozing over whatever his friends are talking about. I liked the message of sharing the spotlight/expressing interest in others (I don't think I've seen that explored much in kids books). Also the "my hair is snakes" line was hilarious. This will definitely be great for my Halloween display.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty simple kids story, one of the many meant to teach sone sort of lesson over entertaining readers. In it, Sasquatch, who is VERY proud of his luscious locks, must learn to be less self-centred, and that while he might get the occasionally compliments, his friends have other interests that don’t involve obsessing over his hair day in and day out. The story makes it’s point, I guess, about trying to teach kids to be less self centred, and try to learn about their friends interests. I don’t know how entertaining it would be for a kid to read more than once, though, even with the lesson presented in a humorous manner.

The real winner here is the illustrations (I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot). The monster characters are all adorable child versions of themselves, including an itty bitty Dracula and green alien child. The illustrations, are bright, and colourful. Hopefully any future works that the author and illustrator may use these characters for have a more re-readable story to go with them, so the artwork can be enjoyed as it should be.