Daisy and Josephine

New York Times bestselling author Melissa Gilbert makes her picture book debut with this fetching story about a shy little girl and her spunky dog, Josephine!

Everyone has a favorite person, and Daddy is Daisy’s. But when the two of them are on the road for Daddy’s work, Daisy sometimes feels lonely. She is very shy and wishes she had a friend. So Daddy gets Daisy a surprise: a funny-looking puppy named Josephine. They make quite a pair—Daisy with her overbite and Josephine with her underbite. Will Daisy’s rambunctious new friend help bring her out of her shell?

This charming story of an unlikely friendship, based on actress and New York Times bestselling author Melissa Gilbert’s own childhood and her very own French bull dog named Josephine is one that everyone can relate to.

“I’m so excited to share the story of Daisy and Josephine,” Melissa says. “I hope it will inspire children to be brave, to sing, and to always shine brightly!”

Melissa Gilbert starred as Laura Ingalls on the hit television show Little House on the Prairie. She has starred in numerous movies and recently served as president of the Screen Actors Guild for two terms. Like Daisy, Melissa was very close to her father as a child. In her memoir, Prairie Tale, she recalls, “My earliest memory is of myself, at two and a half or so, watching my father doing his standup act. I was doing his act along with him. I adored my father.” She resides in Michigan with her family and French bulldog, Josephine.

Julia Kuo is the creator of 20 Ways to Draw a Cat and 44 Other Awesome Animals as well as the charming board book Everyone Eats. Julia also created the cover and interior artwork for Newbery Medal–winning author Cynthia Kadohata’s The Thing About Luck and Place to Belong and New York Times bestselling author Jenny Han’s Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream. She lives in Chicago. Find out more online at JuliaKuo.com.