The Sunshine Queens

Four besties known as the Sunshine Queens rely on mutual care to overcome a series of challenges in this busy telling. The ample action takes place over the course of a single day, beginning with the bunch’s welcoming one friend’s new puppy and concluding with their attending another’s dance performance. As the pals prepare for the show, the pup’s hijinks threaten their timely departure, but teamwork, including a last-minute feat of group glamming, saves the day. Shepherd’s unadorned prose establishes the quartet’s commitment to one another (“They were always there for each other, come rain or shine. But when they were together, it was almost always shine!”), even as abundant names and details read more like enthusiastic personal anecdotes than plotted-out narrative. Patterns, textures, and crisp outlining add dimensionality to Cherislin’s illustrations, which appropriately shine with a sunny brightness. Characters are portrayed with varying skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)