ALA Booklist (Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

When they abruptly come face-to-face, Horse takes Dog for a tiny baby horse, and vice versa, setting the stage for all sorts of droll business as the two offer each other food ("WOO-HOO, OATS!" "GACK!"), gifts ("It's a ball. Go get it, Big Pal!" "Excuse me? You threw it. You go get it"), and inappropriate grooming advice. As it turns out, the two do share one common trait ey're both pig-headed. As surprise becomes irritation and then anger, they continue to butt heads (literally, in the pictures) over whether they're both horses or both dogs . . . until a feathered stranger flutters into view and delivers the punch line: "You are two weird-looking birds." Miller's illustrations resemble those of Mo Willems, cranking up the laughs with pop-eyed figures drawn in thick, simple lines, posed beneath big dialogue balloons against neutral monochrome backgrounds. While chortling at the obtuseness on display, readers just might simultaneously take to heart the insight that the first step to accepting differences is recognizing them.

Kirkus Reviews

An interspecies encounter confuses two four-legged creatures.Dog meets Horse and extols dogginess. Horse, in return, applauds horsiness. Dog likes to play fetch with a ball, while Horse loves to groom its mane. Neither can grasp that the other is a member of a different species. Horse expresses confusion at Dog's small stature, and Dog, in turn, cannot understand how Horse can be so tall. They butt heads in their shared state of confusion, sure to increase exponentially when, on the final two pages, Bird flies into the picture. Kalan tells his little tale entirely in speech bubbles, with uppercase type used to express the animals' raised voices. Miller's illustrations are executed in pen and ink and "digital hocus-pocus." They portray critters with sharp angles and exaggerated heads against a green lower background (for grass) and a blue upper background (for sky). Horse is gray and Dog is yellow; both are outlined in black with very big eyes. Some humorous moments grace the story, as when Horse tries to feed "Tiny Baby" Dog with a hay-filled bottle and gifts him with a size-appropriate saddle. However, an ending with mutual understanding and a blossoming friendship is absent. Animals so familiar and often so beloved to children start and end their conversation in bewilderment, which may lead to the same feeling among listeners. (Picture book. 3-5)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Self-centered much? Horse is convinced that Dog is an infant horse-a -wittle cutie tiny baby- horse-and patronizes him accordingly. Dog thinks that Horse is a gargantuan dog with -weird feet.- Neither stops to consider that there might be species other than their own, and the miscommunication only continues as they try to patch things up: Horse gets -Tiny Baby- a miniature saddle -in case a tiny person wants to ride you,- and Dog gets -Big Pal- a ball to chase. Kalan, who has written for The Daily Show, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and Marvel Comics, makes a terrific picture book debut, moving the wonderfully narcissistic dialogue along quickly as these two huge-and hugely mistaken-egos battle it out (---Tiny baby horse!- -Very big dog!---). Miller (Moo Moo in a Tutu), essentially charged with chronicling a comedy sketch, embraces the challenge by drawing Horse as a preening ovoid with stick legs and fabulous hair, and Dog as a belligerent series of sharp angles. He equips both with a repertoire of opera buffa gestures and expressions (utter disdain! indignation!) to great effect. Ages 4-8. Author-s and illustrator-s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)

School Library Journal (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

K-Gr 2 In Daily Show writer Kalan's funny tale of misunderstandings, Horse and Dog get each other birthday presents: Horse gets Dog a tiny saddle ("Someone sits on you, and you take them wherever they want to go. Fun!"), and Dog returns the favor with a ball for playing fetch ("This is my favorite game! For obvious reasons!"). In a twist that will buck grown-up readers' expectations, the two don't develop empathy and walk off into the sunset; instead, the last page sees a new friend join the muddle, a bird who thinks Dog and Horse are both weird-looking birds. The easy, short sentences make this great for beginning readers; they will find Miller's ( Snappsy the Alligator ) expressive animal cartoons a hoot, too. VERDICT Fans of Snappsy and of Mo Willems's Pigeon will enjoy these overly confident creatures and their goofy obliviousness. Henrietta Verma, Credo Reference, Jackson Heights, NY