Guff by Aaron Blabey

Penguin Books Australia, 2017. ISBN 9780670077175
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Friendship. Stuffed toys. Looking rather worse for wear on the front cover, Guff the much loved stuffed animal toy is the constant companion of his owner. She takes him everywhere, from bed to an outing on the bus, to the toilet, on her bike and at the seaside. He stays in the car when she is at school, but she is happy knowing that he is waiting for her. When she leaves him on the bus Mum must stop the driver to retrieve him. When Guff falls into the water, it is Mum who must climb in after him. Long suffering Mum has the most delightful expressions on her face, showing that she is not as enamoured with Guff as her daughter is. Now and again Mum needs to put him in the washing machine and her face again says it all, and will draw laughter from the readers. Blabey is able to squeeze humour from the simplest expressions, ones that the readers, young and old, will instantly recognise and understand.
When Guff goes missing, Mum makes posters to hang around the street asking for his return, but of course he is only lost within the house. His owner imagines all the most dire reasons for his disappearance, but when he turns up, all is smiles again.
A delicious tale of friendship and love, brimming with humour.
Fran Knight